Wildlife Punjab

Wildlife Sanctuaries

Bir Mehas Wildlife Sanctuary

Bir Mehas Wildlife Sanctuary falls in the jurisdiction of Patiala Forest Division (Wildlife), in the tehsil Nabha of Patiala district. The area lies between 76 5’ E to 76 15’ E longitude and 30 15’ N to 30 20’ N Latitude of the Survey of India toposheet number 53 B/3 (Scale 1”= 8 mile). Total area of Bir is 123.43 hact. There is no distinction between core and buffer area. The sanctuary comprises only 3.43% of total protected areas of Patiala Forest Division (3600.21 hac). The whole tract is plain and on its north, south and east, there are villages inhabiting mostly agricultural communities. Biogeographically, it falls in Indus plain zone of biogeography province -4A, the Punjab plains of Semi-Arid Zone (Rodgers and Panwar, 1988). Bir Mehas WLS is easily approachable. It is about 1 Km from Nabha Bus Stand, the nearest Tehsil and approx 28km from Patiala the Distt Headquarter. Both the private and govt. buses are available to reach the sanctuary from Nabha as well as Patiala.

District

: Patiala

Location

: Nabha-Malerkotla Road

Area

: 123.43 hectare

Status of Land

: Government

Notification Detail

1. Notification F.No. 150/50 dated 28.02.1952 under Fauna of Patiala Act.
2. Govt. of India's Notification No. 350(E) Dated 06.02.2017 reg. Declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zone dated 27.8.2003.
3. Notification No. 34/18/2009-FT-5/458581/1 Dated 10.04.2015 reg. Advisory Committee of Bir Mehas

Important Fauna

Main wildlife species found in the sanctuary are Blue bull, Jungle cat, Jackal, Rhesus Monkeys, Peafowl, Black and Grey Partridges etc.

Important Flora

As per forest classification of Champion and Seth, the forests in the sanctuary falls under the sub- group 5(B) Northern Tropical Dry Mixed deciduous forest type. The main tree species are Kikkar, Eucalyptus, Shisham, Khair, Phalahi, Jamun, Beri, Mulberry, etc.