Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary is a famous 481 km² Protected area in Thiruvallur District of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 state near Elavur and Nellore District

Nellore district

Sri Amarajeevi Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore District is one of the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh. Nellore is famous for high paddy field, and so it got its name from "Nelli". The population of the district was 2,966,082 of which 22.45% were urban as of 2011....

 of Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

 in South India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

. Pulicat Lake

Pulicat Lake

Pulicat Lake is the second largest brackish – water lake or lagoon in India. It straddles the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states on the Coromandal Coast in South India. The lake encompasses the Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary...

 is the second largest brackish-water eco-system in India after Chilka lake

Chilka Lake

Chilka Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Orissa state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal...

 in Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

. International name: Pulicat Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, IBA

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

 Code: IN261, Criteria: A1, A4iii.

Geography

Central location is: 13°34′N 80°12′E. 153.67 km² is managed by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department

Tamil Nadu Forest Department

The Tamil Nadu Forest Department was established as the Madras Forest Department in 1855 by Dr. Hugh Francis Cleghorn, "the father of scientific forestry in India". The department is responsible for managing all the protected areas and forests plus environmental and wildlife related issues of Tamil...

 and 327.33 km² is managed by the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department

Andhra Pradesh Forest Department

Andhra Pradesh Forest Department is one of the administrative divisions of Government of Andhra Pradesh. It is headed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. The primary function of this department is protection, conservation and management of forests in the Andhra Pradesh State. The Forest...

. 108 km² is National Park area. Rainfall ranges from 800 - 2000mm. Temperature varies from 14°C to 33°C. Altitude ranges from 100’ MSL to 1200’ MSL.

Fauna

The sanctuary is most noted for the many Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...

s seen here. The biodiversity of this lake attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors per year.

Threats

Pulicat Lake may disappear within 100 years by being filled up with silt

Silt

Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...

. Government and private NGO efforts are working to halt lake destruction.