The Nilgiri Marten Martes gwatkinsii is a rare and little known species endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range of Southern India. Information about its distribution and occurrence is largely lacking. This paper collates information about Nilgiri Marten presence in the Palni Hills in Tamil Nadu state and presents new records of Nilgiri Marten occurrence from Karnataka state as part of a compilation of opportunistic sightings of this species throughout the Western Ghats.
During the last two decades much has been written about the biodiversity richness of country. Avoiding all the numerical details about the documented species an attempt has been made to provide information about the relative forest systems of India. For classifying the vegetation the altitude has been adopted as vital factor in detailing the vegetation.
In the year 2000, the author a wildlife researcher chose the Palni Hills and had set out to do a survey of mammals along the eastern part of Western Ghats that covers an area of over 2,000 sq. km. The author planned to gather reports of mammals at different elevations and habitats across the Palnis and proceed to intensively survey the areas.
The involvement of local communities in protecting and conserving forests has become a priority concern with aid agencies, governmental departments, NGO's and others concerned with biodiversity conservation, to the extent that participatory forest conservation has become a buzzword in conservation circles.
