Editing Chennai (section)

=== Flora and fauna ===
[[File:GreaterFlamingo-Mudaliarkuppam.jpg|thumb|[[Greater flamingo]]s wintering at Mudaliarkuppam]]

{{Main|Flora and fauna of Chennai}}

A protected [[estuary]] on the Adyar River forms a natural habitat for several species of birds and animals.<ref>{{cite book|author=S. Theodore Baskaran|editor=S. Muthiah|title=Madras, Chennai: A 400-year Record of the First City of Modern India, Volume 1|publisher=Palaniappa Brothers|year=2008|page=55|chapter=Chapter 2: Wildlife|isbn=978-8-18379-468-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbR_LLkqdI8C|access-date=28 December 2012|archive-date=29 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240629135924/https://books.google.com/books?id=tbR_LLkqdI8C|url-status=live}}</ref> Chennai is also a [[Birding in Chennai|popular city for birding]] with more than 130 recorded species of birds have been recorded in the city.<ref>{{cite book|title=Pictorial Handbook: Birds Of Chennai|last=G. Thirumalai and S. Krishnan|date=July 2005|publisher=Zoological Survey of India|place=Kolkata|url=http://www.vedamsbooks.com/no41408.htm|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=18 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618145534/http://www.vedamsbooks.com/no41408.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Marshy wetlands such as [[Pallikaranai wetland|Pallikaranai]] and inland lakes also host a number of migratory birds during the monsoon and winter.<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.tnenvis.nic.in/PDF/WET.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321122516/http://www.tnenvis.nic.in/PDF/WET.pdf|archive-date=21 March 2012|title=Wetlands in Tamil Nadu|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=12 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/chennai-welcomes-migratory-birds-here-is-a-guide-to-begin-bird-watching/article67457419.ece|title=Chennai welcomes migratory birds. Here is a guide to begin bird watching|date=27 February 2024|access-date=1 June 2024|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628082552/https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/chennai-welcomes-migratory-birds-here-is-a-guide-to-begin-bird-watching/article67457419.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> The southern stretch of Chennai's coast from Tiruvanmiyur to Neelangarai are favoured by the endangered [[olive ridley sea turtle]]s to lay eggs every winter.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/good-nesting-season-of-olive-ridley-turtles-ends-along-chennais-coast/article66854180.ece|title=Good nesting season of Olive Ridley turtles ends along Chennai's coast|date=23 May 2023|access-date=1 December 2023|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208075300/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/good-nesting-season-of-olive-ridley-turtles-ends-along-chennais-coast/article66854180.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Guindy National Park]] is a protected area within the city limits and wildlife conservation and research activities take place at [[Arignar Anna Zoological Park]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/wildlife-centre-at-vandalur-zoo-replaces-night-safari/article5314832.ece|title=Wildlife centre at Vandalur zoo replaces safari|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=12 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730145915/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/wildlife-centre-at-vandalur-zoo-replaces-night-safari/article5314832.ece|archive-date=30 July 2020}}</ref> [[Madras Crocodile Bank Trust]] is a [[herpetology]] research station, located {{cvt|40|km}} south of Chennai.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/madras-crocodile-bank-trust-and-its-partner-ngos-in-india-working-to-raise-awareness-on-snakebites/article67329345.ece|title=Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and its partner NGOs in India working to raise awareness on snakebites|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=22 September 2013|access-date=29 August 2022|archive-date=27 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927154926/https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/madras-crocodile-bank-trust-and-its-partner-ngos-in-india-working-to-raise-awareness-on-snakebites/article67329345.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Shankar Raman|first=T. R.|author2=R. K. G. Menon|author3=R. Sukumar|title=Ecology and Management of Chital and Blackbuck in Guindy National Park, Madras|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society|volume=93|issue=2|pages=178–192|year=1996|url=http://blackbuck.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/raman-menon-sukumar-jbnhs.pdf|access-date=21 Jul 2012|archive-date=18 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718093532/http://blackbuck.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/raman-menon-sukumar-jbnhs.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The city's tree cover is estimated to be around {{cvt|64.06|km2}} with 121 recorded species belonging to 94 genera and 42 families. Major species include [[Copper pod]], [[Indian beech]], [[Gulmohar]], [[Samanea saman|Raintree]], [[Neem]], and [[Tropical Almond]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Tree cover in city is only around 15%|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|location=Chennai|date=11 February 2018|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/tree-cover-in-city-is-only-around-15/article22719066.ece|access-date=11 February 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730152628/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/tree-cover-in-city-is-only-around-15/article22719066.ece|archive-date=30 July 2020}}</ref> The city's marine and inland water bodies house a number of fresh water and salt water fishes, and marine organisms.<ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.fisheries.tn.gov.in/includes/assets/cms_uploads/pdf/glance/Fisheries_Policy_Note_2022-23_English.pdf|title=Fisheries policy note|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=29 August 2022|archive-date=25 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625144534/https://www.fisheries.tn.gov.in/includes/assets/cms_uploads/pdf/glance/Fisheries_Policy_Note_2022-23_English.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/569 |title=Species persistence: a re-look at the freshwater fish fauna of Chennai, India |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |date=2010 |doi=10.11609/JoTT.o2519.1334-7 |access-date=1 August 2023 |last1=Knight |first1=J.D. Marcus |last2=Devi |first2=K. Rema |volume=2 |issue=12 |pages=1334–1337 |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208112216/https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/569 |url-status=live }}</ref>