Context

• Recently, forest range officer (FRO) in Karnataka’s Nagarhole Tiger Reserve (NTR) spotted a black panther.
• They can be found in Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary, Anshi Dandeli Sanctuary (Karnataka), Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (Tamil Nadu) and Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra).

Back to Basics

• Nagarhole Tiger Reserve stretches between Kodagu and Mysuru districts and was a protected reserve from the time of the Wodeyar dynasty, rulers of the erstwhile kingdom of Mysuru.
• Nagarhole, which served as an exclusive hunting reserve of the Wodeyars, was made a wildlife sanctuary in 1955, covering an area of 284 square km – later stretched up to 643 square km.
• It was upgraded to a national park in 1988 and was brought into the fold of Project Tiger after being declared a tiger reserve in 1999.
• Kabini Forest in Karnataka is a vital part of the Nagarhole National Park or Rajiv Gandhi Tiger Reserve. Once upon a time, the Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary used to be the hunting grounds for the kings of Mysore, but at present it is open for tourism.