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The Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary in Rajasthan was notified as India’s 52nd tiger reserve.
About Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary
- Location: Ramgarh Vishdhari, located mostly in Bundi district and in part in Bhilwara and Kota districts.
- Covering an area of about 252 square kilometres, acts as a buffer for the Ranthambore National Park on the Bundi-Nainwa Road in Rajasthan.
- The area had been declared a sanctuary on 20 May 1982, Section 5 of the Rajasthan Wildlife and Bird Protection Act, 1951.
- The state government had sent the proposal to develop Ramgarh Vishdhari sanctuary for tigers in April, 2021, which was approved by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in July itself.
National Tiger Conservation Authority
- NTCA was established following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganised management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Reserves in India.
- The National Tiger Conservation Authority is set up under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Environment and Forests.
- Authority will have eight experts or professionals having qualifications and experience in wildlife conservation and welfare of people including tribals
Why is Ramgarh important to tiger conservation?
- While Ramgarh doesn’t have a high tiger population, it plays a critical role for the movement of tigers.
- This new reserve will help in controlling the overpopulation and the consequent effect of overcrowding in Ranthambore; today, the reserve houses 80 tigers over 1,334 sq km.
- The Ramgarh sanctuary will connect the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur district in the northeast with the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in the Kota district on the southern side and become an important tiger corridor.
- Importance of tiger corridors
- A tiger corridor is a stretch of land linking tiger habitats, allowing movement of tigers, prey and other wildlife.
- There are around 33-35 major tiger corridors and several smaller ones in the country.
- Corridors also help reduce man-tiger attacks
- Tiger corridors also serve as habitat for several other species such as wolves, hyenas, ratel, pangolins, birds, reptiles, etc.
Other three tiger reserves of Rajasthan
- Sariska Tiger Reserve
- Location: Sariska National Park is located in Alwar district of Rajasthan, about 107kms from Jaipur and 200kms form the capital, Delhi
- Protection Status
- 1955: Declared Wildlife Sanctuary
- 1979: Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger
- 1990: Wildlife Sanctuary upgraded to National Park
- Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
- Location: Located in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan
- Bounded to the north by the Banas River and to south by the Chambal River.
- Protection Status:
- 1955: established as the Sawai Madhopur Game sanctuary
- 1973: Declared as tiger Reserve
- 1980: National Park
- 1984: adjacent forests were declared the Sawai man singh sanctuary and Kailadevi wildlife Sanctuary
- 1991: Tiger reserve was enlarged to include the Sawai Man Singh and Kailadevi Sanctuaries
- Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve
- Location: Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve is spread across four districts-Kota, Bundi, Chittorgarh and Jhalawar
- Protection Status:
- 1955:Darrah was declared a wildlife sanctuary
- 2004: Declared as Mukundra Hills National Park
- 2013: Got approval from NTCA and declared as Tiger Reserve
- 2020: Moefcc notifies MHTR EcoSensitive Zone
News Source: Indian Express