Wethtigan Wildlife Sanctuary


Wethtigan Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in Myanmar's Magway Region with an area of at an elevation of. It was established in 1939.
The sanctuary's lake and surrounding marshland provide habitat for waterfowl and freshwater fish. It is located about west of the Irrawaddy River close to the city of Salin in Salin Township. It receives south-west monsoon rains of about per year from June to August. It is one of four protected wetlands in the country.

History

The sanctuary was notified in September 1939 under the name of 'Weltigan Wild Life Sanctuary' with an area of foremost for the protection of waterfowl. It consisted of a lake and marshland. Local people were allowed to graze their cattle, collect grass, fruits and lotus leaves. Birds and fish were poached during the Japanese occupation of Burma. By the early 1950s, the area was partly rehabilitated.
Today, it is governed by the Township Forest Department and does not receive a budget for conservation activities.

Biodiversity

Wethtigan Wildlife Sanctuary comprises a lake of about surrounded by marshes, where 22 aquatic plant species were recorded. These include Typha, Eichhornia, Sesbania, Nymphaea and Boottia species. Medicinal plants comprise 80 species.
Birds recorded comprise 130 species, with ducks and waders predominating between November and February. Waterfowl include lesser whistling duck, ferruginous pochard, bar-headed goose and pheasant-tailed jacana. Also recorded were hooded treepie, Ayeyarwady bulbul, common myna, white-throated babbler, Asian palm swift.
Little grebe, cinnamon bittern, cattle egret, knob-billed duck, cotton pygmy goose, Indian spot-billed duck, Western swamphen, black-winged stilt and little ringed plover were also sighted.
Indian black turtle, Indian flapshell turtle and Asiatic softshell turtle live in the lake.