Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary – Kakinada

About

Coringa is a beautiful Mada or Mangrove Forest, where the river Godavari joins the backwaters of the Bay of Bengal. Between this area and the sea ” Hope Island ” blocks the direct confluence of the sea and Godavari. As a result, about 40% of the sanctuary is only sea-backwaters and the rest of the area is intermingled with creeks and gets inundated with tidal waters.

Flora

Mangrove plants like Rhizophora spp, Avicennia spp, Sonnertia spp, etc; grow here. The plants possess salt glands to throw out excess salt. They also give out pencil-like roots called ” pneumatophores ” or breathing roots. The seedlings exhibit a phenomenon called ” Viviparity “, wherein they grow on the mother plant and detach themselves, to grow into a new plant under favorable conditions.

Fauna

The faunal diversity is wonderful with rare and endangered mammals like Smooth Indian otters, Fishing cats, Jackal, etc. Mangroves offer excellent habitat for birds like Black-capped kingfisher, Brahminy kite, Seagulls, Reef Heron, Sandpiper, etc. Reptilian fauna includes Estuarine crocodile, Olive Ridley sea-turtles, Common Cobra, Rat snake, etc. The invertebrate fauna that forms the main base for the other higher fauna is extremely diverse and rich with invertebrates like mollusks, gastropods, crabs, shrimps, insects, etc.Timings

09:00 AM – 05:00 PM