A new biodiversity-heritage site (BHS) has come up in Odisha. The pristine Gupteswar Forest in Dhondrakhol reserve forest under Jeypore Forest Division of Koraput district has been declared as the fourth BHS of Odisha. The state government has issued a notification to this effect.

“The declaration of Gupteswar as BHS will lead to the conservation of its precious biodiversity. With this declaration, the state now has four BHSs. The other three are Mandasaru BHS in Kandhamal district, Mahendragiri BHS in Gajapati district and Gandhamardan BHS in Bargarh and Bolangir district,” the chief secretary office said in a press release.

The site spreads over 350 hectares of demarcated area. The state government has asked the Odisha Biodiversity Board to prepare a long-term plan for intensive conservation and development of these sites through direct participation of the local communities.

Along with its sacred grooves traditionally worshipped by the local community, the site is bestowed with a wide range of flora and fauna. “Biodiversity inventory and survey conducted by the Odisha Biodiversity Board shows the presence of at least 608 faunal species, including 28 species of mammals, 188 species of birds, 18 species of amphibia, 48 species of reptiles, 141 species of butterflies, 43 species of moths, 41 species of odonates, 30 species of spiders, six species of scorpion and 20 species of lower invertebrates,” the release said.

Significant faunal species like mugger crocodile, kanger valley rock gecko, sacred Grove Bush Frog and avifauna like black baza, Jerdon’s baza, Malabar trogon, common hill myna, white-bellied woodpecker and banded bay cuckoo etc have also been documented here.

The limestone caves of Gupteswar are adorned with eight species of bats out of the total 16 species found in southern Odisha. Among them, two species — Hipposideros galeritus and Rhinolophus rouxii — are under the near-threatened category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the state government said.

This site also has a rich floral diversity embracing 182 species of trees, 76 species of shrubs, 177 species of herbs, 69 species of climbers, 14 species of orchids and threatened medicinal plants.