The Pranahita Wildlife sanctuary was established in 1980, is located in the Chinnur-Mancherial forest, and is one of the oldest places in the state of Telangana. It was mainly built to conserve the blackbucks. It is also the state animal. The animals find their food from the wild bushes and shrubs that grow in the sanctuary. Pranahita Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the landscape of the Deccan plateau and covers the thick deciduous teak forests. As this is prehistoric so the fossils can also be found here. The climate is usually hot and dry and the temperature varies from 15 to 40 degrees Celsius during the summer.
The covered area is about 136 square kilometers which are full of lush green forest and dark teak, which is about 300km from Hyderabad city. Even the Pranahita river covers the distance, in the middle of the way which adds beauty to this sanctuary. It is about 70% of the land in the Adilabad district is covered by dense forest. Apart from Pranahita Wildlife Sanctuary, there are two other sanctuaries in the district. Pranahita Wildlife Sanctuary which is a forest grown out of river water occupies a 136.02 sq. kms area. The topography of the sanctuary is hilly with dense forests and plateaus.
The Pranahita river flows in the eastern direction of the sanctuary whereas the Godavari River flows towards the south. In the sanctuary, there are major animals can be found including, panthers, star tortoises, sloth bears, pythons, crocodiles, tigers, and Indian Bison. However, as this is the oldest wildlife sanctuary so it is well protected in the wildlife areas of the Telangana, Adilabad district. You can find different types of birds like Teals, Herons, Brahminy Ducks, Storks, and other birds. The important trees found here are Pterocarpus marsupium, Dalbergia latifolia, Dalbergia paniculata, Ficus spp, Dalbergia sissoo, etc.
Also visit: Visit the Popular Jannaram Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary
Well, this sanctuary is most famous for Blackbuck, and over 20 species of reptiles, 50 species of birds, and more than 40 species of mammals are present here. Wildlife photographers and wildlife lovers can spend quality time here by watching the Indian Porcupine and other wild animals like Wild dogs, Hyena, Indian Otter, Palm Civets, Rhesus Monkey, Langur, forest cats, Leopard, Sloth bears, Nilgai, Tiger, many more species can be found here. The scrub jungle and the grasslands are ideal habitats for Blackbuck.
The Best time to visit this wildlife sanctuary is from October to June. And there are two ways to reach the sanctuary.
By Air– The nearest airport is Hyderabad which is about 300 kms from Pranahita.
By Road– It is about 70 Km from Mancherial which is connected to most of the cities of India.
