Periyar survey logs six species never before recorded in the reserve

A four-day faunal survey in the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) at Thekkady has turned up six species that had not previously been documented within the reserve — one bird, one butterfly and four odonates.

The bird is the golden-headed cisticola (Cisticola exilis). The exercise logged 174 bird species, taking the reserve's cumulative bird list to 347.

The butterfly recorded for the first time in PTR is the common onyx (Horaga onyx). With 192 butterfly species sighted during the survey, the reserve's documented butterfly count now stands at 284.

The four odonates — dragonflies and damselflies — newly added to the reserve's records are the parakeet darner (Gynacantha millardi), Fraser's clubtail (Acrogomphus fraseri), spiny horntail (Burmagomphus chaukulensis) and Nilgiri clawtail (Lamelligomphus nilgiriensis). Sixty-eight odonate species were documented during the survey, bringing the consolidated checklist for PTR to 111.

The wider assessment also recorded 15 mammal, 30 spider, 34 ant and five cicada species.

Kalesh Sadasivan, a research associate with the Travancore Nature History Society, described the golden-headed cisticola as a rare species usually found at higher elevations. He said the findings underline the role of the reserve's elevational gradient, evergreen forests, grasslands and ecotonal habitats in supporting varied wildlife. The healthy ecosystem and unpolluted water bodies at PTR were behind the new records, he added, noting that regular surveys over the past decade have consistently thrown up additions.

P.P. Pramod, field director of PTR, said that adding six distribution records to an area as intensively studied as Periyar shows why systematic biodiversity surveys matter. Such studies, he said, help track shifts in species distribution and habitat use and strengthen the evidence base for long-term conservation management.

Periyar East division deputy director Midhun Mohan said the survey covered widely separated camps representing varied elevations, habitats and levels of accessibility.

Held from September 10 to 13, the exercise brought together 75 delegates from 21 NGOs, academic and research institutions, along with Forest department officials and frontline staff. They were split into 21 teams working from 20 active base camps to cover all major ecological zones of the tiger reserve.