lydekkerianus), grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura), and Indian giant squirrel (Ratufa indica). There are no strictly endemic mammals. The ranges of the Nilgiri langur, Jerdon's civet, and Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina) extend upwards into the montane rain forests and downwards into the Malabar coastal forests. Day's shrew (Suncus dayi) is also found in the coastal forests, and Layard's striped squirrel (Funambulus layardi) extends into the montane rain forests. The ecoregion has 322 native species of birds. There are nine near-endemic species, which are also found in the adjacent montane rain forests: the Nilgiri wood pigeon (Columba elphinstonii), Malabar grey hornbill (Ocyceros griseus), grey-headed bulbul (Brachypodius priocephalus), rufous babbler (Argya subrufa), white-bellied treepie (Dendrocitta leucogastra), black-and-rufous flycatcher (Ficedula nigrorufa), Nilgiri flycatcher (Eumyias albicaudata), yellow-throated bulbul (Pycnonotus xantholaemus), and Malabar parakeet (Psittacula columboides). Protected areas A 2017 assessment found that 6,645 km², or 28%, of the ecoregion was in protected areas. Another 50% is forested but outside protected areas. In 1997, the World Wildlife Fund identified fourteen protected areas in the ecoregion, with a combined area of approximately 4,960 km², that encompassed 21% of the ecoregion's area. The adjacent protected areas of Bandipur, Nagarhole, Mudumalai, and Wyanad are home to India's largest protected population of elephants, with over 2500 individuals. Bandipur National Park, Karnataka (1,110 km²) Bilgiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka (370 km², partly in the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests) Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala (50 km²) Eravikulam National Park, Kerala (90 km², partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests) Indira Gandhi National Park (Anamalai), Tamil Nadu (620 km² partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests) Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu (895 km², partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests) Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu (310 km², partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests) Mudumalai National Park, Tamil Nadu 400 km²) Nagarhole National Park, Karnataka (620 km²) Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala (128 km²) Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala (285 km²) Periyar National Park, Kerala (470 km², partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests) Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala (40 km² partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests) Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala (430 km²) In 2000 a portion of The Nilgiris was designated a biosphere reserve under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme. In 2012 a World Heritage Site was designated in the Western Ghats, covering seven groups of