Kolar leaf-nosed bats get conservation reserve
- Rediscovered four years ago in the subterranean caves of Hanumanahalli Betta in Mulbagal taluk of Kolar district, the unique and endangered Hipposiderid bats, popularly known as Kolar leaf-nosed bats, were threatened by rampant stone quarrying. The state government approved a proposal to declare the area a Conservation Reserve for the endangered species.
- The area has been declared as conservation reserve under section 36 (A) of Wildlife Act of 1972. A one-kilometre radius of the area around the hillock has been declared as "Safe Zone" under the rule 3(2) of Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession Rule 1994. The meeting cleared the proposal to declare 40,000 acres of reserve forest in Bukkapattana in Tumakuru as Wildlife Sanctuary for chinkaras. A 15 sq km area of Muneshwara Reserve Forests were merged with Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
