Sacred groves form a significant component of the traditional conservation movement in many parts of the tropical world . The Western Ghats, one of the two mega-diversity centers in India, is dotted with sacred groves, with the highest concentrations located in the central Western Ghats. Sacred groves are believed to serve as the last refugia for a number of taxa, particularly for rare, endangered and threatened species. Of late due to encroachments and land-use changes, the sacred groves have been increasingly threatened and fragmented. During the last century alone, the total area under the groves in Kodagu district in the central Western Ghats decreased by 42%. Besides, more than 46% of the sacred groves in the district are less than 0.4 ha in area. The increased fragmentation of the groves could undermine the utility of these groves in serving as a refugium for the rare, endangered and threatened (RET) species. Here we examine the effects of grove area on the seedling mortality of two economically important and vulnerable tree species.