Namakkal Forest Ranges and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary

The forested hill ranges in Namakkal district's eastern portion — including the Salem-Coimbatore forest division — form part of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary corridor. These forests shelter leopards, sloth bears, Indian pangolins, and rare butterfly species. The Pambar river flowing through Namakkal's forest zone has one of the last remaining populations of the Cauvery Carp, an endemic fish of the Cauvery drainage. Traditional communities in the forest fringes — Malasar and Malai Vedar — maintain knowledge of medicinal plants and small-scale honey collection. Forest-based non-timber forest product collection including gooseberry, terminalia fruit, and beeswax provides supplementary income. The forest department works with village eco-development committees in buffer zone villages.