THE Shwesettaw Wildife Sanctuary is significant as an example of a Dry Zone environment and because of its population of one of the world’s rarest species of deer, the Thamin, or Brow Antlered Deer. The sanctuary can be reached by taking the highway from Yangon via Pyay to Magway, a journey of about 330 miles, crossing the Ayeyarwaddy to Minbu by Z-craft ferry and travelling another 35 miles to Shwesettaw. One unusual feature of the sanctuary is the presence within its boundaries of the famous Shwesettaw Pagoda. Pilgrims in their thousands flock to pay homage to the revered pagoda during a festival which takes place each year on the first waxing day of the dabodwe moon, which this year was February 13. Perhaps the association is not accidental since the environs of a pagoda are sacrosanct and the taking of all forms of life is proscribed by Buddhism. The Shwesettaw Wildlife Sanctuary, being a relative newcomer in the field of wildlife protection in the area, was perhaps thankful for any moral persuasion or prohibition from the immensely prestigious Shwesettaw Pagoda that would help to achieve its aims. The SWS was established in 1940 and covers 314 square miles, comprising 213 square miles of wildlife protected area and a supplementary 100.6 square miles of protected forests. The sanctuary includes parts Sagu, Pwint.Byu, Nga Hpè: and Saedokktara townships of Minbu District, Magway Division. The sanctuary ranges from 300 feet to 600 feet above sea level and its topography is moderately high mountain ranges, ridges and slopes of tertiary sandstone. The eco-system is that of the Dry Zone of central Myanmar with 30 inches of rain a year, falling between May and November. The vegetation consists mostly of Indaing: forests of In trees (Dipterocarpus tuberculatus), decidious dipterocarp forest, mixed deciduous forest, Dahat (Tectona hamiltoniana) hardwood forest and Than: (Terminalia oliveri) forest.  Fauna in the SWS comprises mainly bears, leopard, barking deer, wild boar, wild dog, peafowl, monkeys, civets and 113 avian species including the swae.hnget or White Throated Babbler (Turdoides gularis). Among reptiles, the Star Tortoise (Geochelona platynota) found in the sanctuary is a species that is endemic to Myanmar.  Of recent years there has grown an acute demand for the star tortoise in the pet trade. Arrests for the attempted smuggling of star tortoises have been made at airports. Unfortunately, the star tortoise has been placed by the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), of which Myanmar is a signatory, in Category II, which means that is not threatened with extinction but may become so unless trade is regulated, and not in Category I which would classify it as a species that is threatened with extinction due to trade. The result is that star tortoises can be exported freely provided the proper legal formalities are observed. The main mammal species protected in SWS is, however, the thamin or Brow-Antlered Deer (Cervus eldi thamin) that is found only in Myanmar. Its preferred habitat is Indaing forest, thorn bracken, and dry deciduous forest. It feeds on wild fruit such as those of the hpan-gah: (Terminalia chebula) tree and the zee-byu or Eastern gooseberry (Emblica officianalis) tree, leaves, grasses, paddy, grain, pulses and other cultivated crops. The thamin can thrive in its arid environment due to its ability to go for days without water.  Thamin are most plentifully found in Chatthin Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Division. The Shwesettaw WS and nearby areas have the second highest population. Thamin are also found in Shwebo District, Sagaing Division; Meiktila District, Mandalay Division and Thayet District, Magway Division. The SWS was established in order to conserve Myanmar’s natural resources and protect the country’s wildlife, to prevent the extinction of the Brow Antlered Deer, which is among the world’s rare species, to preserve the habitat of wildlife of the area in its natural state and to maintain the ecological integrity of the watershed area of the Mann and Mone creeks. The importance of the SWS lies in its preservation of a fine example of a Dry Zone eco-system, the prevention of the extinction of the world’s rare and endangered species and the maintenance of the religious and cultural heritage of the nation as represented by the Shwesettaw Pagoda. The Shwesettaw Wildlife Sanctuary offers prospective eco-tourists the opportunity to study the behaviour patterns and ecological adjustment of the thamin, conduct scientific investigations of a typical thamin habitat and observe or pay homage to  the twin pagodas of Shwe-settaw.  (The author wishes to acknowledge the help of the director of the Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division of the Forest Department, U Khin Maung Zaw, and staff in the preparation of this article.)