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ainfall of only about 50 cm on an average. Some pockets in this shadow
zone have still less rainfall. As we go eastward from this zone the rainfall
increases: first in the zone of 60-70 cm of rainfall which includes
Aurangabad ; next in the 80-100 cm rainfall zone which includes Parbhani
and Nanded Districts; and lastly, the 100-200 cm rainfall zone which
includes Nagpur, Bhandara, Wardha and Chandrapur Districts of Vidarbha,
that have excellent forests.
7.Forests and wild life.— The rainfall pattern determines the extent and
nature of the forests. The Western Ghats have moist deciduous forests, the
best forests of this class being in Sawantwadi, south of Ratnagiri. This forest
belt is bounded on east and west by dry deciduous forests e.g. in Thana,
Nasik, Satara and Kolhapur Districts. Beyond the belt of dry deciduous
forests are the thorn or scrub forests, which at one time covered the eastern
parts of the above-Ghat Districts but which have recently yielded to
extension of cultivation in most areas; or to grazing by cattle and browsing
by sheep and goats. The Satpura forests are in the northern areas of Dhulia
and Jalgaon Districts, while the Melghat forests are in the north of Amravati
District. The best forests are in Chandrapur District (formerly Chanda) ; with
rich forest wealth including teak, bamboo, anjan, tembhurni and several
vegetations of commercial and medicinal value.
The area of forests in Maharashtra State is roughly 61.000 sq. km or 21 per
cent of the State's surface area, which is less than the optimum. In the present
context, forests provide home for wild animals, particularly the deer,
antelope, and wild pig, and the carnivores which live on the former. The best
forests in Yeotmal-Chandrapur area of Vidarbha also have plentiful wild life.
The forests of the Western Ghats and of the Satpura range are of some
importance for forest purpose, but have little wild life left. The forests of the
Western Ghats have perhaps been denuded almost completely of wild life.
Reference to the District Gazetteers issued in the 19th century and the
Hyderabad State Gazetteer issued in 1909, will show that a large variety of
wild life existed in almost all the districts, and areas which constitute the
present Maharashtra State. The first volume of the India Gazetteer of 1965
mentions, in Chapter 5, the reduction or disappearance of the Crocodile (p.
254), the Pinkheaded Duck (p. 258), the Great Indian Bustard (p. 261), the
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