Context

• Recently, the proposal to declare Shivalik forest in western Uttar Pradesh as a tiger reserve is gaining support among officials, experts and wildlife enthusiasts.

Key Details

• The Uttarakhand government’s plan to translocate a few tigers in the nearby Motichur range of Rajaji National Park from other places in the hill state would strengthen the proposal to declare Shivalik forest as a tiger reserve due to its proximity.
• The population of Van Gujjars inside the forest could be moved out and rehabilitated.

Back to Basics

• The forest is located at the foothills of the Shivalik range close to the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand on the route to Dehradun from Delhi in the Saharanpur circle.
• Once the proposal is officially accepted, it would be the fourth tiger reserve of UP and the second one in western UP. Amangarh in Bijnor district is western UP’s first tiger reserve near Jim Corbett National Park. Dudhwa and Pilibhit are the other tiger reserves in the state.
• Stretching till the boundary of the Kalesar wildlife sanctuary in Haryana and the Simbalbara National Park in Himachal Pradesh, the Shivalik forest includes Badkala, Shakumbhai and Mohand forest ranges of the Saharanpur circle.

Do You Know?

• The Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary and Ranipur wildlife sanctuary of Uttar Pradesh was also in news for the race of Tiger Reserves.