Indian elephantThe Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) is one of three extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia. Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild population has declined by at least 50% since the 1930s to 1940s, i.e. three elephant generations. The Asian elephant is threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. In general, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body point on the head.
Indian leopardThe Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. The species Panthera pardus is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because populations have declined following habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching for the illegal trade of skins and body parts, and persecution due to conflict situations. The Indian leopard is one of the big cats occurring on the Indian subcontinent, along with the Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, snow leopard and clouded leopard.
Bhavani RiverBhavani is an interstate Indian river which flows through Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. It originates from the Western Ghats and is one among the three rivers of Kerala which flows in eastward direction. Bhavani river originates from Nilgiri hills of the Western Ghats, enters the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala and flows back towards Tamil Nadu. The Bhavani is a long perennial river fed mostly by the southwest monsoon and supplemented by the northeast monsoon.
OotyOoty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a town and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore, 100 km (65 mi) north west of Tirupur, south of Mysore and is the headquarters of the Nilgiris district. It is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. It is popularly called the "Queen of Hill Stations". It was the summer capital of the Madras Presidency.
DholeThe dhole (Cuon alpinus) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. It is genetically close to species within the genus Canis, but distinct in several anatomical aspects: its skull is convex rather than concave in profile, it lacks a third lower molar and the upper molars sport only a single cusp as opposed to between two and four.
Western GhatsThe Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri mountain range, is a mountain range that covers an area of in a stretch of parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, traversing the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. It contains a very large proportion of the country's flora and fauna, many of which are endemic to this region.
CoimbatoreCoimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur, koːjambʊt̪ːuːɾ, sometimes shortened as Kovai (koːʋaj), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbatore is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu after Chennai in terms of population and the 16th largest urban agglomeration in India as per the census 2011. It is administered by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and is the administrative capital of Coimbatore District.
South IndiaSouth India, also known as Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territories of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry, comprising 19.31% of India's area () and 20% of India's population. Covering the southern part of the peninsular Deccan Plateau, South India is bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south.
Hoysala EmpireThe Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved to Halebidu. The Hoysala rulers were originally from Malenadu, an elevated region in the Western Ghats. In the 12th century, taking advantage of the internecine warfare between the Western Chalukya Empire and Kalachuris of Kalyani, the Hoysalas annexed areas of present-day Karnataka and the fertile areas north of the Kaveri delta in present-day Tamil Nadu.
Madras PresidencyThe Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including all of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, almost all of Tamil Nadu and some parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana. The city of Madras was the winter capital of the presidency and Ooty was the summer capital.