Chandaka-Dampara wildlife sanctuary

After relocating deer from Cuttack, the Odisha state government is planning to introduce Sambar and Gaur (bison) in the Chandaka-Dampara wildlife sanctuary.

• It is located in Khurda district of Odisha represents the north-eastern limits of Eastern Ghats. 
• It is also a home to a number of threatened wild animals and birds.
• This landscape got sanctuary status in 1982.
• The climate of the area is tropical with three distinct and well marked seasons i.e. summer, Rainy season and winter.
• Vegetation: Flora is moderately diverse with intimate mixture of evergreen and deciduous elements. The area comes under semi-evergreen forest zone but the interplay of biotic factors has changed the original character of the vegetation.
• Flora: Dhaman (Grewia Tiliaefolia), Bankapasia (Kydia calycina), Jamu (Syzyggium Cuminii), Gandhana (Premna mucronata), Kansa (Hymenodictyon excelsum), Kusum (Schleichera oleosa), Marua (Vitex pinnata), Sidha (Lagerstroemia parviflora), Karanja, Thorny bamboo etc.
• Fauna: Elephants, Chital, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Rhesus Monkey, Pangolin, Sloth Bear, Indian Wolf, Hyena and other mammals.