[4] In 2022, the reserve won the TX2 award by World Wide Fund in collaboration with wildlife conservation agencies for its growth in tiger population.

[2] Sathyamangalam Forest Division was declared a wildlife sanctuary with effect from 3 November 2008 by the Government of Tamil Nadu as per the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972.

[7] In 2008, the Government of Karnataka sent a proposal to declare the contiguous Billigiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve which was subsequently approved in 2010.

[10] In July 2010, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests of the Government of India requested the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to consider the possibility of proposing the Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuary as a Project Tiger reserve as per the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 as the area is contiguous with the forests of Bandipur and Mudumalai tiger reserves.

[11][8] On 1 April 2010, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced that it would initiate the process to declare the sanctuary as a tiger reserve because of the consistent sighting of tigers in the forest area and that the declaration would strengthen wildlife conservation efforts, as the central government would provide additional financial support for the appointment of additional anti-poaching watchers and for the establishment of anti-poaching camps.

[14] On 6 April 2012, the Chief Wildlife Warden said that the proposal to declare Sathyamangalam as a tiger reserve has been sent to the Ministry of Environment and Forests for approval and funding.

[9] The 2009 wildlife survey conducted by Government of Tamil Nadu enumerated 12 Bengal tiger, 836 Indian elephants, 779 blackbucks, and 20 leopards.

[21] In December 2011, the Conservator of Forests of Tamil Nadu stated that the sanctuary is home to at least 28 tigers as confirmed by a camera trap study conducted by World Wildlife Fund.

In 2022, the reserve won the TX2 award by World Wide Fund in collaboration with wildlife conservation agencies for its growth in tiger population.

[29][30] The sanctuary is listed among the top five places in India for poaching tigers by the international wild life trade monitoring network, TRAFFIC.

[32] The reserve also faces issues due to forest fires, uncontrolled grazing of cattle and growth of invasive plant species, damaging the ecosystem.

[31][33] As of 2011, solar powered fencing that give a short and safe electric shock was laid over a length of 239 km (149 mi) to prevent the entry of elephants into agricultural lands.

[23][35] Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve forests are home to indigenous tribal people belonging largely to the Irulas, also known as the Urali, and Soliga communities.

[31] Tribal people engage in agriculture, grazing of animals and collecting minor forest produce such as honey, tubers, fuel wood and fish.