Context

Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary in Ariyalur district, which was recently recognised as a Ramsar site hosts over 20,000 feathered visitors from all over the world.

About

• Covering 453.7 hectares, Karaivetti is home to over 500 species of flora and fauna.
• Its geographical location on the Central Asian Flyway makes it an important breeding and foraging ground for birds.
• It is surrounded by paddy fields and so far has been free from the human wildlife conflict. More than 20,000 migratory birds visits the wetland regularly.
• The heronry of Karavetti Birds Sanctuary has more than 10,000 individuals of colonial nesting water birds.
• Near-threatened bird species like Spot-billed Pelican, Black-headed Ibis and Oriental Darter nest in the trees of the wetland.
• The Indian Flap-shelled Turtle can be found nesting in the swampy regions here.
• The sanctuary, one of the largest inland wetlands of Tamil Nadu, was recently declared a Ramsar site, along with the Longwood Shola reserve forest in The Nilgiris.