Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary

Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Narmada district of Gujarat. This sanctuary has 607.70 km2 area. Best season to visit is from November to March.

Ecosystem

The forest is a moist deciduous forest with semi-evergreen elements. It is one of the densest forests in Gujarat. The hilly tract of the sanctuary bordering Narmada supports some of the best forests of Gujarat harbouring floral and faunal elements bearing similarities to Himalayan and Western Ghats ones. The physical aspect is dominated by Rajpipla hills. Dhanmal is the highest peak in this region.The general slope is towards west. The sanctuary has a vast undulating terrain, lush ever pervading greenery,tall canopy,deep valleys,sombre rocks, gentle streams, majestic waterfalls-all in the Vindhyan-Satpuran ranges. Moist teak forest, moist mixed deciduous forest, dry deciduous scrub, dry bamboo brakes and dry tropical riverine forest are the varied habitats found here. It is also a major watershed feeding two major reservoirs thus conserving the soil and water.

Flora

Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is within the North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests ecoregion.
There are vast groves of bamboo, and it has 575 species of flowering plants..

Fauna

This sanctuary is famous for its nocturnal flying squirrels. Many mammals like sloth bear, leopard, rhesus macaque, chousingha, barking deer, pangolin, chital, Indian civet, palm civet, wild dogs, leopard cat and Indian porcupine are found here. Tigers were also found here but have not been seen since two decades. Herpetofauna includes python and many other snakes. Tortoises and many lizards are also found. Birds including Alexandrine parakeet, grey jungle fowl, red jungle fowl, crested serpent eagle, shikra, sparrow hawk, great horned owl and grey hornbill[disambiguation needed] are found here.