Wildlife
31 events, 1855 to 2022.
1855
Madras Zoo begins at the Government Museum
Edward Balfour started a zoological park in the Government Museum premises, the origin of today's Vandalur zoo.
1936
Vedanthangal declared a bird sanctuary
Vedanthangal near Madurantakam was officially declared a wildlife sanctuary, the oldest in India.
1940
Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary established
About 60 square km of forest in the Nilgiris district was set aside as the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.
1967
Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary created
To shelter blackbuck and vast flocks of waterbirds, a sanctuary was established at Point Calimere on the Palk Strait.
1972
Madras Snake Park moves to Guindy
On land leased from the Forest Department in Guindy, herpetologist Romulus Whitaker established an enlarged snake park, run by a trust he set up.
1974
Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary notified
The forests of the Anaimalai hills in the Western Ghats were notified as a wildlife sanctuary, later the Anamalai Tiger Reserve.
1976
The Madras Crocodile Bank was founded on the East Coast Road by Romulus Whitaker, Zai Whitaker and others to protect India's crocodile species.
1978
Guindy declared a national park
What was left of the forest on the old Guindy estate in Chennai was made a national park, among the smallest in India and one of only a few within a city.
1980
Tamil Nadu part of Pulicat Lake declared a bird sanctuary
The Tamil Nadu portion of the Pulicat lagoon in Tiruvallur district was declared a bird sanctuary in October 1980.
1985
Madras zoo moves to Vandalur as Arignar Anna Zoological Park
The Madras Zoo, founded in 1855, moved to a large new site at Vandalur as the Arignar Anna Zoological Park.
1986
Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park declared
Twenty-one islets lying offshore between Thoothukudi and Dhanushkodi were designated the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park.
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve established, India's first
India's first biosphere reserve was created from the Nilgiri hills and nearby forests, stretching across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
1988
Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve created
A tiger reserve was formed in the southern Western Ghats by joining the Kalakkad and Mundanthurai wildlife sanctuaries.
1989
Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve created
The Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park and a 10 km buffer zone along the Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi coast were declared a biosphere reserve.
1990
Mukurthi National Park created to protect the Nilgiri tahr
The montane grasslands and sholas of Mukurthi in the Nilgiris, a wildlife sanctuary since 1982, were upgraded to a national park.
1994
Koonthankulam declared a bird sanctuary
The village tank at Koonthankulam in Tirunelveli district, a major nesting site for waterbirds, was declared a bird sanctuary.
1999
Karaivetti declared a bird sanctuary
A freshwater lake in Ariyalur district that attracts thousands of migratory birds was declared a bird sanctuary by the Tamil Nadu government.
2000
Veerappan kidnaps actor Rajkumar
Forest brigand Veerappan abducted Kannada film star Rajkumar from Gajanur in Erode district and held him for 108 days.
2001
Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve established
A biosphere reserve was created at the southern tip of the Western Ghats, spanning Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts and southern Kerala.
2004
Veerappan killed in Operation Cocoon
The forest brigand Veerappan was killed by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force near Dharmapuri, ending a decades-long manhunt.
2007
Mudumalai declared a tiger reserve
Mudumalai National Park in the Nilgiris was declared a tiger reserve under Project Tiger, with a buffer zone of about 368 square km.
Pallikaranai marsh notified as a reserve forest
To stop the shrinking of Chennai's last large freshwater marsh, 317 hectares of Pallikaranai were declared a reserve forest.
2012
Western Ghats inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Western Ghats mountain range, which runs through western Tamil Nadu including the Nilgiris and Anamalai hills, became a World Heritage Site.
2013
Sathyamangalam declared a tiger reserve
The Government of India declared the Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuary in Erode district the fourth tiger reserve in Tamil Nadu.
Gangaikondan Spotted Deer Sanctuary notified
Tamil Nadu notified a sanctuary at Gangaikondan in Tirunelveli district dedicated to the protection of spotted deer.
2021
Kazhuveli Bird Sanctuary notified
The brackish Kazhuveli lake in Villupuram district, linked to the sea by the Uppukalli creek, was notified as a bird sanctuary.
Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve created
The Srivilliputhur and Megamalai forests were notified as India's 51st tiger reserve and Tamil Nadu's fifth.
2022
Tamil Nadu launches Project Nilgiri Tahr
The state launched a conservation programme for its state animal, the Nilgiri tahr, covering grassland restoration, radio-collaring and monitoring.
Several Tamil Nadu wetlands designated Ramsar sites
Pallikaranai marsh, Karikili and Vedanthangal bird sanctuaries and other Tamil Nadu wetlands were added to the list of Ramsar sites.
India's first slender loris sanctuary notified at Kadavur
Tamil Nadu notified about 118 square km of forest at Kadavur as India's first sanctuary for the slender loris.
Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary notified
About 686 square km of forest along the Kaveri was notified as Tamil Nadu's 17th wildlife sanctuary.