Tiger Reserves in India UPSC

Context

• There are 55 tiger reserves in India which are governed by Project Tiger which is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
• India is home to 80 percent of tigers in the world. In 2006, there were 1,411 tigers which increased to 1,706 in 2010, 2,226 in 2014, 2967 in 2018 and 3167 in 2022.
• Under section 38V (1) of the Wild Life Protection Act 1972, “The state government shall on the recommendation of the tiger conservation authority, notify an area as Tiger Reserve”. So, it becomes mandatory for the state to accept the recommendation.
• No alteration in the boundaries of a tiger reserve shall be made except on a recommendation of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the approval of the National Board for Wild Life.
• No State Government shall de-notify a tiger reserve, except in public interest with the approval of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the approval of the National Board for Wild Life.
• Critical ‘tiger’ habitats (CTHs): Also known as core areas of tiger reserves—are identified under the Wild Life Protection Act (WLPA), 1972. “Such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purpose of tiger conservation, without affecting the rights of the Scheduled Tribes or such other forest dwellers”. The notification of CTH is done by the state government in consultation with the expert committee constituted for the purpose. 

List of Tiger Reserve in India : State Wise

Sl. No	State	Name of Tiger Reserve
1	Andhra Pradesh	Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve
2	Arunachal Pradesh	Pakke Tiger Reserve
3	Arunachal Pradesh	Kamlang Tiger Reserve
4	Arunachal Pradesh	Namdapha National Park
5	Assam	Kaziranga National Park
6	Assam	Orang Tiger Reserve
7	Assam	Nameri National Park
8	Assam	Manas Tiger Reserve
9	Bihar	Valmiki National Park
10	Chhattisgarh	Indravati Tiger Reserve
11	Chhattisgarh	Udanti-Sitanadi Wildlife Sanctuary
12	Chhattisgarh	Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary
13	Jharkhand	Palamau Tiger Reserve
14	Karnataka	Biligiri Ranganatha Temple Tiger reserve
15	Karnataka	Nagarahole National Park
16	Karnataka	Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve
17	Karnataka	Bandipur Tiger Reserve
18	Karnataka	Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary
19	Kerala	Parambikulam Tiger reserve
20	Kerala	Periyar Tiger reserve
21	Madhya Pradesh	Sanjay-Dubri Tiger reserve
22	Madhya Pradesh	Satpura Tiger reserve
23	Madhya Pradesh	Bandhavgarh Tiger reserve
24	Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra	Pench Tiger reserve
25	Madhya Pradesh	Kanha Tiger reserve
26	Madhya Pradesh	Panna Tiger reserve
27	Madhya Pradesh	Veerangana Durgawati Tiger Reserve
28	Maharashtra	Bor Tiger Reserve
29	Maharashtra	Nagzira Tiger Reserve
30	Maharashtra	Sahyadri Tiger Reserve
31	Maharashtra	Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve
32	Maharashtra	Melghat Tiger reserve
33	Mizoram	Dampa Tiger Reserve
34	Odisha	Satkosia Tiger Reserve
35	Odisha	Similipal Tiger Reserve
36	Rajasthan	Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
37	Rajasthan	Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve
38	Rajasthan	Sariska Tiger Reserve
39	Rajasthan	Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve
40	Rajasthan	Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve
41	Tamil Nadu	Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
42	Tamil Nadu	Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve
43	Tamil Nadu	Anamalai Tiger Reserve (Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park)
44	Tamil Nadu	Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
45	Tamil Nadu	Srivilliputhur Megamalai Tiger Reserve
46	Telangana	Kawal Tiger Reserve
47	Telangana	Amrabad Tiger Reserve
48	Uttar Pradesh	Ranipur Tiger Reserve
49	Uttar Pradesh	Dudhwa Tiger Reserve
50	Uttar Pradesh	Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
51	Uttar Pradesh	Amangarh Tiger Reserve
52	Uttarakhand	Corbett National Park
53	Uttarakhand	Rajaji Tiger Reserve
54	West Bengal	Sundarbans National Park
55	West Bengal	Buxa Tiger Reserve

 TIGER RESERVES IN INDIA UPSC

TIGER RESERVES IN INDIA

1.KAMLANG TIGER RESERVE, ARUNACHAL

• Kamlang river
• Lohit district
• Tropical, Subtropical
• Tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, snow leopard
• Mishmi, Digaru, Mizo tribes
• It is separated from Namdapha by the Lang River
• Lang River forms its northern border and the Namdapha National Park is on its southern border.

2. NAMDAPHA TIGER RESERVE, ARUNACHAL

• Changlang district near the international border with Myanmar
• Biodiversity hotspots in Eastern Himalayas
• The fourth-largest national park of India
• Mishmi and Patkai Bum hills
• Evergreen, tropical, semi-tropical, temperate, arctic
• Northernmost lowland evergreen rainforests
• Tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, snow leopard
• Palearctic and Indo-Malayan biogeographic areas
• Namdapha Flying Squirrel which is endemic and critically endangered
• Dhole, red panda, marbled cat, fishing cat, binturong, takin, Bharal, serow, capped langur

3. PAKHUI (PAKKE) TIGER RESERVE, ARUNACHAL

• East Kameng District
• Won India Biodiversity Award 2016 in the category of ‘Conservation of threatened species’ for its Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme Kameng River
• Lies in the undulating and hilly foothills of the Eastern Himalayas
• Bounded by Bhareli or Kameng River in the west and north, and by Pakke River in the east. It is surrounded by contiguous forests on most sides. To the east lies Papum Reserve Forest
• The sanctuary adjoins reserve forests and Assam’s Nameri National Park
• West of Kameng River are Sessa Orchid Sanctuary and Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Sanctuary slopes southwards towards the river valley of the Brahmaputra River
• habitat types are lowland semi-evergreen, evergreen forest and Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests.
• Nameri National Park of Assam is nearby.

4. KAZIRANGA TIGER RESERVE, ASSAM

• Golaghat, Karbi Angling and Nagaon districts
• Famous for Great One-horned rhinoceros
• Elephants, wild water buffalo
• Flat expanses of fertile, alluvial soil, formed by erosion and silt deposition by the River Brahmaputra
• Elephant reserve, National park, Biodiversity hotspot
• It is not a biosphere reserve.
• Important bird area by Birdlife International
• Located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot
• breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer
• vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland, and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests, criss-crossed by four major rivers
• A World Heritage Site by UNESCO

5. MANAS TIGER RESERVE, ASSAM

• A national park, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve
• Royal Manas NP in Bhutan is contiguous
• Manas river flows through it which is a tributary of Brahmaputra river
• Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur, pygmy hog, wild water buffalo
• Famous for its population of the wild water buffalo

6. NAMERI TIGER RESERVE, ASSAM

• Eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District
• Lies just south of Pakke Tiger Reserve of Arunachal Pradesh
• Main Rivers are Jia- Bhoroli and Bor Dikorai.
• The Jia Bhoroli river of Assam was famous since the time of British for the golden mahseer angling
• Habitat-semi-evergreen, moist deciduous forests with cane and bamboo brakes and narrow strips of open grassland
• best sighting spot of the endangered bird White- winged Duck (State bird of Assam)
• Ibisbill and Merganser are the two species of migratory birds visit the park every winter.

7. ORANG TIGER RESERVE, ASSAM

• Brahmaputra river
• Darrang and Sonitpur district
• Indian Rhinoceros, Pygmy hog, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo, Bengal tiger
• Only stronghold of rhinoceros on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river.
• Formed of alluvial flood plains of the many rivers and is an integral part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot.

8. DAMPA TIGER RESERVE, MIZORAM

• Lushai Hills
• Tropical forests
• In the tiger census of 2018, no tiger was found in this reserve.
• Rare floral species have been found in including rare ginger species Globba spathulata and Hemiorchis pantlingii.

9. RAJAJI TIGER RESERVE, UTTARAKHAND

• Shivaliks
• Nestled between the Shivalik ranges and the Indo-Gangetic plains

• 03 districts of Uttarakhand:  Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal.

• Named after C. Rajagopalchari
• Ganga and Song rivers
• Goral is found here
• Asian elephant, Bengal tiger, Leopard, Jungle cat, striped hyena, Goral

10. CORBETT TIGER RESERVE, UTTARAKHAND

• Oldest NP of India, created in 1936
• Earlier called Hailey National Park
• Nainital and Pauli Garhwal districts
• Ramganga river
• The first national park of Asia
• One of the thirteen protected areas covered by the World-Wide Fund For Nature under their Terai Arc Landscape Program

• The program aims to protect three of the five terrestrial flagship species, the tiger, the Asian elephant and the great one-horned rhinoceros

• Spotted dear, sambar deer, elephant, tawny fish owl, golden jackal
• Encompasses the Patli Dun valley formed by the Ramganga river
• located partly along a valley between the Lesser Himalaya in the north and the Shivaliks in the south, has a sub-Himalayan belt structure
• Formerly part of the princely state of Tehri Garhwal
• 1^st to come under Project Tiger initiative

11. DUDHWA TIGER RESERVE, UTTAR PRADESH

• Billy Arjan Singh
• Located on the Indo-Nepal border in the Lakhimpur Kheri District
• Indian rhinoceros
• Terai belt of marshy grasslands
• Together with the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary it forms the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve
• Stronghold of the barasingha. Around half of the world’s barasinghas are present
• Extreme humid subtropical with dry winters (CWa) type of climate
• Falls within the Upper Gangetic plains and is a vast alluvial plain
• Swamp deer, Sambar deer, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, sloth beer, ratel, jackal, civets, jungle cats, fishing cat, leopard cat

12. PILIBHIT TIGER RESERVE, UTTAR PRADESH

• Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich districts
• River Sharada (Mahakali), River Ghagara
• Form’s part of the Terai Arc Landscape in the upper Gangetic Plain along the India-Nepal border.
• Characterized by sal forests, tall grasslands and swamp
• Sharda Sagar Dam is on the boundary of the reserve
• Got the first International award TX2 for doubling the tiger population in a stipulated time
• North Indian moist deciduous type, with sal Shorea robusta forests.
• Sal woodland is very dense with good natural regeneration
• The important linkages are:
  • Surahi range- Terai East Division Uttarakhand
  • Lagga-Bagga – Shuklaphanta National Park (Nepal)
  • Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary – Dudhwa

13. VALMIKI TIGER RESERVE, BIHAR

• Located at the India-Nepal border
• West Champaran district
• Royal Chitwan national park of Nepal is contiguous
• River Gandak
• extensive forest area of Valmikinagar (formally known as Bhainsa Lotan)
• Barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, sambar, blue bull, spotted hyena, leopard cat, wild cat, fishing cat, flying squirrel, clouded leopard, Indian gaur, Mongoose
• encompasses foothills ranges of Himalayan Sivaliks with mosaic of the cliffs, ridges, gorges
• Situated in Gangetic plains bio-geographic zone of the Country, the forest has combination of bhabar and terai tracts.
• only National park in Bihar
• harbors vivid socio-cultural diversity. ‘Tharu’, a scheduled tribe, is the dominant community
• scheduled tribes other than Tharu in the Valmiki landscape are collectively called Dhangar – which means retained labourer in Oraon dialect.
• Dhangar comprises four tribes: Oraon, Munda, Lohra and Bhuiya. The ‘Dhangars’ were brought to area as agriculture laborer from the Chhotanagpur Hills. Each Dhangar tribe has its own dialect and they observe their traditional festivals.

14. PALAMU TIGER RESERVE, JHARKHAND

• Betla NP and Palamu WS (Latehar district)
• One among the original 9 tiger reserves
• North Koel river
• White Vultures

15. SUNDERBANS TIGER RESERVE, WEST BENGAL

• NP, TR, BR & Ramsar Site
• Ganges Delta
• Mangrove- ecotone
• Only mangrove forest in the world inhabited by tigers.
• Also, in Bangladesh
• One amongst the initial nine Tiger Reserves constituted at the time of inception of the Project Tiger
• Bound by the river Matla in the west
• Rivers Kalindi and Harinbhanga and Raimongal in the east form the international boundary with Bangladesh, south of the Reserve lies the Bay of Bengal, northwest is bounded by rivers Bidya, Gomdi
• Saltwater crocodile /Bengal Tigger
• UNESCO World Heritage site

16. BUXA TIGER RESERVE, WEST BENGAL

• North part of WB / Gangetic Plains
• East of Manas TR
• lies in Alipurduar district
• northern boundary runs along the international border with Bhutan
• Sinchula hill range lies all along the northern side of BTR and the eastern boundary touches that of the Assam state
• The Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary of Bhutan is contiguous to the north
• south-west, the Chilapata Forests form an elephant corridor to the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary
• Asian elephant, gaur, sambar deer, clouded leopard, Indian leopard, Bengal tiger
• Rajabhatkhawa Vulture Breeding Centre

17. SIMLIPAL TIGER RESERVE, ODISHA

• Mayurbhanj district
• Red silk cotton trees
• World Network of Biosphere Reserves
• 12 small rivers are there
• Part of the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve, which includes three protected areas — Similipal Tiger Reserve, Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary and Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary
• 7th largest national park
• Waterfalls like Joranda and Barehipani Falls.
• Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, gaur, chausingha
• High hills surround Meghasani / Tunkiburu, the highest peak

18. SATKOSIA TIGER RESERVE, ODISHA

• Angul district of Odisha
• Mahanadi river & Eastern Ghats mountains
• Comprises the Satkosia Gorge Wildlife Sanctuary and the adjacent Baisipalli Wildlife Sanctuary
• Slightly southward of Simlipal TR
• Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests ecoregion
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which had approved the transfer of six tigers from the wild of Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha National Park to Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Odisha

19. RANTHAMBORE TIGER RESERVE, RAJASTHAN

• Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary
• Indian leopard, Nilgai, Wild boar, Sambar, Striped hyena, Sloth bear
• Three red Karauli stone temples devoted to Ganesh, Shiva and Ramlalaji.
• North by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River
• Digamber Jain temple of Lord Sumatinath and Lord Sambhavanath
• Padam Talao is the largest of the many lakes in the park. A red sandstone Jogi Mahal is at the edge of the lake. A gigantic Banyan tree, considered to be India’s second largest, is also near the lake

20. SARISKA TIGER RESERVE, RAJASTHAN

• Alwar district
• Copper and marble mining
• Indian leopard, jungle cat, caracal, striped hyena, golden jackal, chital, sambar deer, nilgai
• Scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills
• 1^st reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers
• An important biodiversity area in the Northern Aravalli leopard and wildlife corridor.
• Part of the Aravalli Range and the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.
• All tigers in Sariska became extinct in 2005

21. MUKANDRA HILLS TIGER RESERVE, RAJASTHAN

• Darrah, Chambal and Jawahar Sagar WSs
• Chambal river
• Darrah Wildlife Sanctuary
• Spread across 4 districts – Bundi, Kota, Jhalawar & Chittorgarh
• 04 rivers that flow in this region, the rivers are Chambal river, Kali river, Ahu river, Ramzan river.
• 02 parallel mountains viz. Mukundra and Gargola.
• It was considered for the introduction of the Asiatic lion.

22. ACHANMAKAR TIGER RESERVE, CHATTISGARH

• Mungeli district
• Achanmakar- Amarkantak BR
• Indian leopard, gaur, chital, striped hyena, Indian jackal, sloth bear
• Linked by the hilly Kanha-Achanakmar Corridor to the tiger reserve in Kanha, Madhya Pradesh
• Close to Amarkantak, the source of the Son River and Narmada River.

23. UDANTI-SITANADI TIGER RESERVE, CHATTISGARH

• located in Dhamtari District
• Udanti and Sitanadi
• Udanti River flowing from the west to east

• Sitanadi River that originates in the middle of sanctuary

24. INDRAVATI TIGER RESERVE, CHATTISGARH

• Indravati river flows from east to west and forms the northern boundary of the reserve with the Indian state of Maharashtra
• Bijapur District
• Tropical moist and dry deciduous type with predominance of bamboo, sal and teak
• One of the last populations of rare wild buffalo
• Wild Asian buffalo, Nilgai, Blackbuck, Chowsingha, sambar, chital, Indian muntjac, tiger, leopard, sloth bear, dholes

25. PANNA TIGER RESERVE, MP

• Located in Panna and Chhatarpur districts
• Will be submerged because of Ken-Betwa interlinking
• Ken river passes through it
• Continuity of the Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests belt, which starts from Cape Comorin in South India, is broken and beyond this the Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests of the great Indo-Gangetic Plain begins.
• 2012 tiger extinction
• Ken Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary
• Chital, chinkara, nilgai, sambar, sloth bear

26. BANDHAVGARH TIGER RESERVE, MP

• Umaria district
• Maharaja Martand Singh of Rewa captured the first white tiger in this region in 1951
• Sambar, barking deer, nilgai, caracal, striped hyena, Indian wolf, Sarus Crane
• Main zones of the national park are Tala, Magdhi and Khitauli.

27. SANJAY-DHUBRI TIGER RESERVE, MP

• Some part is in Chattisgarh (Guru Ghasidas NP)
• Koriya (last known territory of the Asiatic cheetah in India) District of Chattisgarh and Sidhi, Singrauli districts of Madhya Pradesh
• Bengal tiger, the Indian Leopard, spotted deer, sambar deer, wild boar, nilgai, chinkara, civet, porcupine
• Located in the Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests ecoregion
• mostly composed of tropical forests of Sakhua (Shorea robusta) trees
• Comprises Sanjay National Park and the Dubri Wildlife Sanctuary

28. KANHA TIGER RESERVE, MP

• Kanha-Kisli National Park
• Largest NP of Madhya Pradesh & Central India
• Royal Bengal Tiger, Indian leopards, Sloth Bear, Barasingha, Indian wild Dog
• The forest is depicted in Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book
• two protected areas, Hallon and Banjar
• First TR to have a mascot- Bhoorsingh, the Barasingha
• Baiga Tribe

29. SATPURA TIGER RESERVE, MP

• Hoshangabad District (newly named Narmadapuram)
• Satpura Range
• Indian bison, tigers, Dholes, Blackbuck, Porcupine,Sambar,Barasingha, Flying Squirrels
• Adjoining Bori and Pachmarhi wildlife sanctuaries
• Mount Dhoopgarh is the highest peak

30. PENCH TIGER RESERVE-MP & MAHARASHTRA

• Straddle across two states – Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
• Southern slopes of Satpura
• Pench river emerges from Mahadeo Hills of Satpuda Ranges and flows from North to South before going on to join the Kanhan River, while splitting the Park into two, and forming the boundary of Seoni District and Chhindwara District districts of Madhya Pradesh
• Chital, Sambar, Gaur, Nilgai, Wild pig, Indian muntjac, Chowsingha
• Well-forested areas of Seoni and Chhindwara districts
• National Highway 7 and has two famous entry gates, Turiya and Karmajhiri
• Described in Ain-i-Akbari, and is the setting of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book

31. NAWAGAON-NAGZIRA TIGER RESERVE, MAHARASTRA

• Nawagaon means new village
• Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary
• Gondia district
• Formed out of 2 WSs
• Southern tropical dry deciduous forest

32. BOR TIGER RESERVE, MAHARASTRA

• Wardha district
• Bor Dam
• Centrally located among several other Bengal tiger habitats including Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, to the northeast; Nagzira Navegaon Tiger Reserve, to the east northeast; Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, to the east southeast; Tadoba – Andhari Tiger Reserve, to the southeast; Melghat Tiger Reserve, to the west northwest and Satpura National Park and Tiger Reserve, to the northwest.
• South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests ecoregion, with the main species being teak, ain, tendu

33. TADOBA- ANDHARI TIGER RESERVE, MAHARASTRA

• Tadoba NP and Andhari WS
• Maharastra’s oldest and largest NP in MH
• Chandrapura district
• Andhari river
• Tadoba Reserve covers the Chimur Hills, and the Andhari sanctuary covers the Moharli and Kolsa ranges
• Gond kings once ruled these forests in the vicinity of the Chimur hills
• Predominantly southern tropical dry deciduous forest

34. SAHYADARI TIGER RESERVE, MAHARASTRA

• Westernmost TR of India
• Part of the ecoregions of North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests and North Western Ghats montane rain forests
• Form a common boundary between Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa, and constitute rich evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests
• Spread over the four districts of Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri
• Spreads over Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary forming the northern portion and Chandoli National Park forming the southern part of the reserve. Recently reserve is extended towards Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary.

35. MELGHAT TIGER RESERVE, MAHARASTRA

• Among the first 9 TR
• Northern part of Amravati district
• Tapti River and the Gawilgadh ridge of the Satpura Range
• Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, Sloth bear, Indian jackal, sambar, gaur, barking deer, nilgai, cheetal
• tropical dry deciduous in nature, dominated by teak

36. NAGARJUNASAGAR SRISAILAM TIGER RESERVE, ANDHRA PRADESH AND TELANGANA

• Found both in AP and Telangana
• Nallamalla hills
• Spreads over five districts, Kurnool District, Prakasam District, Guntur District, Nalgonda District and Mahbubnagar district.
• Krishna river
• southern tropical dry mixed deciduous forest, Hardwickia forest and Deccan thorn scrub forests with much Euphorbia scrub
• Largest TR of India

37. AMRABAD TIGER RESERVE, TELANGANA

• Lies in the Nallamala Hills of Telangana.
• It is India’s second-largest tiger reserve, next only to Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana).
• It has a large presence of the Chenchu tribe.
• Relics of the fort of Ikshwaku Chandragupta, a ruler of the 3rd century BC are also found
• Contains ruins of the ancient Nagarjuna Viswa Vidyalayam run by the great Buddhist scholar Nagarjunacharya (150 AD)
• Geo-morphological rock shelters and cave temples such as Akka Mahadevi Bhilam, Dattatreya Bhilam, Umaa Maheswaram, Kadalivanam, and Palankasari are characteristic of the area
• Lies along a patch where the Nallavagu and Dindi rivers merge, forming a major tributary and catchment of the Krishna river.

38. KAWAL TIGER RESERVE, TELANGANA

• Godavari and Kadam rivers
• Located at Jannaram mandal of Mancherial District
• One of the richest teak forests in the state
• Dry Deciduous Teak Forests mixed with Bamboo
• River Kadam (a tributary of Godavari)

39. PARAMBIKULAM TIGER RESERVE, KERALA

• Palakkad district
• In the Sungam range of hills between the Anaimalai Hills and Nelliampathy Hills
• Lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri Tahr, Elephants, Bengal tigers,Indian leopards, Wild boar, Sambar, Travancore Flying Squirrel
• Home of four different tribes of indigenous peoples including the Kadar, Malasar, Muduvar and Mala Malasar
• Teak, neem, sandalwood and rosewood.

40. PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE, KERALA

• Sabrimala temple
• TR, ER
• Periyar and Pamba rivers
• Cardamom hills and Pandalam hills
• Mullaperiyar dam
• six tribal communities nestled inside the reserve such as Mannans, Paliyans, Malayarayans, Mala Pandarams, Uralis and Ulladans.
• Tropical evergreen, semi evergreen, moist deciduous forests and grasslands.
• Periyar NP located high in the Cardamom Hills and Pandalam Hills of the south Western Ghats along the border with Tamil Nadu

41. SATHYAMANGALAM TIGER RESERVE, TAMIL NADU

• Erode district
• Wildlife corridor in Nilgiri between Western Ghat and Eastern Ghat
• Gateway to Eastern Ghats, is a significant ecosystem and a genetic link between the five other protected areas which it adjoins, including the Billigiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Sigur Plateau, Mudumalai National Park, Bandipur National Park and the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary
• Mostly tropical dry forest, part of the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests ecoregion
• Home to indigenous tribal people belonging largely to the Irula tribe (also known as the Urali) and Soliga communities

42. MUDUMALAI TIGER RESERVE, TAMIL NADU

• Northwestern side Nilgiri hills (Nilgiri District)
• Indian elephant, Bengal tiger, Gaur, Indian leopard
• Shares its boundaries with the states of Karnataka and Kerala
• Sanctuary is divided into five ranges – Masinagudi, Thepakadu, Mudumalai, Kargudi and Nellakota.
• Critically endangered Indian white-rumped vulture and long-billed vulture.
• Habitat-Tropical moist forest. Tropical dry forest and scrub forests

43. ANAMALAI TIGER RESERVE, TAMIL NADU

• Anamalai hills
• Indira Gandhi WS and NP
• Coimbatore District and Tiruppur District
• Also called Topslip
• The tribes are the Kadars, Malasars , Malaimalasars, Pulaiyars, Muduvars and the Eravallan (Eravalar).

44. KALAKAD- MUNDATHURAI TIGER RESERVE, TAMIL NADU

• Southern Western Ghats in Tirunelveli district and Kanyakumari district
• Part of Agasthyamalai BR
• Southernmost TR
• Habitat use by the grey junglefowl (Gallus sonneratii) at Mundanthurai plateau
• Kani Tribal habitations

45. DANDELI- ANSHI TIGER RESERVE, KARNATAKA

• Also known as Kali TR
• Uttara Kannada district
• Bengal tigers, Black panthers, Indian elephants
• Kali river
• Western Ghat
• Six adjacent protected areas in the states of Goa and Maharashtra

46. BHADRA TIGER RESERVE, KARNATAKA

• Bhadra river
• Bada Budan Giri range
• Bhadra NP Popularly known as Muthodi Wildlife Sanctuary
• Spread across two districts Shivamogga and Chikmagalur districts.
• Hebbe Giri is the highest peak in the sanctuary.

47. NAGARHOLE TIGER RESERVE, KARNATAKA

• Kodagu and Mysore district
• Part of Nilgiri BR
• Tiger, Gaur, Elephant, Indian Leopard, Deer
• Brahmagiri hills
• Kabini reservoir separates Bandipore and Nagarhole
• Kabini river
• Adjoining Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
• Park ranges the foothills of the Western Ghats spreading down the Brahmagiri hills and south towards Kerala state
• Kabini reservoir separates the two parks (Nagarhole and Bandipur)
• adjoining Bandipur National Park, Mudumalai National Park and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, it forms the largest protected area in Southern India
• consists mainly of North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests with teak and rosewood predominating in the southern parts. There is Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests with Pala indigo and thorny wattle
• The Jenu Kurubas, primary inhabitants of this forest area, are a tribe in Karnataka state and their traditional practices and rituals are slowly disappearing.
• Jenu Kuruba and the Koraga as tribal groups in Karnataka

48. BANDIPORE TIGER RESERVE, KARNATAKA

• Chamarajanagar district
• Kabini river in north and Moyar river in south
• Night traffic ban
• Lantana lace used to remove Lantana weed
• Indian elephants, Gaurs, tigers, sloth bears, muggers, Indian rock pythons, Four-horned antelopes, jackals, dholes
• Many types of biomes, but dry deciduous forest is dominant.
• Deccan Plateau meets the Western Ghats
• Bandipur NP flanked by the Kabini river in the north and the Moyar river in the south. The Nugu river runs through the park.  Highest point in the park is on a hill called Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta

49. BILIGIRI RANGASWAMY TEMPLE (B.R.T) TIGER RESERVE, KARNATAKA

• Chamarajanagar district
• Biligiri Rangana Hills
• Biligiri Rangana Swamy Temple WS
• Connects Eastern and the Western Ghats
• White rocky cliff on the top of which is a temple of Lord VISHNU locally known as Rangaswamy.
• Habitat-Dry deciduous type, and are interspersed with moist deciduous, semi-evergreen, evergreen and shola patches occurring at varying altitudes.

50. SRIVILLIPUTHUR-MEGAMALAI TIGER RESERVE, TAMIL NADU

• The Srivilliputhur Megamalai Tiger Reserve will span the forests of Megamalai wildlife sanctuary and Srivilliputhur grizzled squirrel wildlife sanctuary.
• Srivilluputhur hosts leopards, Nilgiri tahrs, Lion tailed macaques, jungle cats, and sambars.
• 5th in Tamil Nadu
• Vaigai river

51. AMANGARH TIGER RESERVE, UTTAR PRADESH

• It is in Amangarh in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
• Originally part of the famed Jim Corbett National Park, and after the state of Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, Jim Corbett went to Uttarakhand and Amangarh remained in Uttar Pradesh.

52. RAMGARH VISHDHARI TIGER RESERVE, RAJASTHAN

• 4th Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan
• Buffer for the Ranthambore National Park.
• Hilly dry deciduous forests on Vindhyan formations.
• Floral diversities like Mango, Dhok, Khair and Salar.

53. RANIPUR TIGER RESERVE-UTTAR PRADESH

• District-Chitrakoot.
• 53rd tiger reserve of India.
• Apart from Ranipur, the state has three tiger reserves– Dudhwa, Pilibhit and Amangarh. Amangarh is a buffer zone of the Jim Corbett National Park and is located in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor.
• While Dudhwa Tiger Reserve is located in Lakhimpur, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is in Pilibhit.
• It will also be the first in the state’s portion of the Bundelkhand region, which it shares with neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.
• Covered by northern tropical dry deciduous forests and is home to mammals like megafauna tiger, leopard, bear, spotted deer, sambhar, chinkara among others.

54. VEERANGANA DURGAVATI TIGER RESERVE-MADHYA PRADESH

• 54th Tiger Reserve of India and 7th of Madhya Pradesh.
• This newly designated Tiger Reserve will encompass areas within the Nauradehi (Wild Life) & Veerangana Drugavati Sanctuary.
• It spans three districts—Narsinghpur, Sagar, and Damoh.
• After getting the status of Tiger Reserve, this sanctuary, which was once known only as the natural habitat of Indian wolves, finds itself as the largest habitat for the big cats.
• Named after Rani Durgavati, a queen of the Gondi people.
• The vegetation is predominantly tropical mixed dry deciduous forestand some teak forests with trees.
• The Singorgarh fortare located within the sanctuary.

55. DHOLPUR – KARAULI TIGER RESERVE, RAJASTHAN

• 55th Tiger Reserve of India and 5th of Rajasthan
• The Karauli-Sarmathura-Dholpur sanctuary in Rajasthan has been officially designated areas as Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve (DTR).
• This new reserve marks Rajasthan’s fifth, joining the existing reserves of Ranthambore, Sariska, Mukundra Hills, and Ramgarh Vishdhari.

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Prelims inFocus

Future Tiger Reserves in India

• In addition to existing reserves, the in-principal approval has been accorded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority for the creation of four new tiger reserves, namely Ratapani Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and Sunabeda Tiger Reserve in Odisha. Final approval has been accorded to Kudremukh National Park to be declared as a tiger reserve.
• The State Governments have been advised to send proposals for declaring the following areas as tiger reserves: Suhelva Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh, Mhadei Sanctuary in Goa, Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary, Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary and Varushanadu Valley in Tamil Nadu, Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh and Cauvery-MM Hills in Karnataka.
• Guru Ghasidas National Park And Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhatisgarh

• • 4th tiger reserve of Chhattisgarh after the Udanti-Sitanadi, Achanakmar, and Indravati Reserves.
  • Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary was identified as part of the Sarguja Jashpur Elephant Reserve in 2011.
    • Tamor Pingla is in Surajpur district in the northwestern corner of Chhattisgarh
  • Guru Ghasidas National Park
    • Situated in Koriya district.
    • Last known habitat of the Asiatic cheetah in the country.
    • Originally part of the Sanjay Dubri National Park.
    • Separate entity in Chhattisgarh’s Sarguja region.
    • Connects Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh and provides a corridor for tigers to move between the Bandhavgarh and Palamau Tiger Reserves.
  • Bhoramdeo, on the other hand, connects the Indravati Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh with the Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and, experts say, the decision to create a Tiger Reserve at Guru Ghasidas National Park should not affect attempts to notify Bhoramdeo as a Tiger Reserve too.

No Tiger Reserves States / UT in India

• Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab,Gujarat, Haryana, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim,Meghalaya

Other facts

• 13 tiger range countries — India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.
• Petersburg Declaration, MEETR, M-STrIPES
• Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s tenure Kailash Sankhala was the first director of Project Tiger.
• As the Bengal Tiger is the national animal of India, this project aims to stem the dwindling population of the big cats and work to increase their numbers.
• Not to confuse with Pench Tiger Reserve and Pench National Park. Pench Tiger Reserve or Pench National Park is one of the premier tiger reserves of India and the first one to straddle across two states – Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• On the Madhya Pradesh side, the Pench Tiger Reserve encompasses a core area of 411.33 km2 and On the Maharashtra side, the Pench Tiger Reserve has a core habitat area of 257.3 km2. Pench National Park is a national park in India’s Madhya Pradesh state.
  • Recently, the Union minister of state for environment, forests and climate change said the second tiger reserve in Bihar would be set up in Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary. After Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR), Bihar will soon get the second Tiger Reserve in Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is located in Kaimur District of Bihar, near the town of Bhabua. It is the largest sanctuary in the state of Bihar. This Sanctuary located in the Kaimur Range. In the valley portions there are several waterfalls of which the finest are Karkat Waterfall and Telhar. The main animals found at Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary are Bengal tigers, Indian leopards, Indian boars, sloth bears, sambar deers, chitals, four-horned antelope and nilgais. Birds such as the lesser white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck, Baer’s pochard duck and lesser adjutant, greater adjutant, black-necked stork, and Asian openbill stork migrate from Central Asia to the park during winter. The Kaimur forests are connected to forests in the neighbouring states of Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
  • So far 17 tiger reserves in the country have got CA|TS international accreditation and two tiger reserves have got international Tx2 Award.
  • As part of its drive to protect wildlife, the Uttar Pradesh government is planning to upgrade Amangarh tiger reserve, located adjacent to the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, and name it as ‘New Jim Corbett’.
  • Karnataka’s principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) has requested the National Tiger Conservation Authority (Project Tiger Division) to include the Kali Tiger Reserve in the phase III of the economic valuation of tiger reserves in India. Kali Tiger Reserve (KTR) in Karnataka is located in the biologically sensitive Western Ghats and a UNESCO world heritage site and a global biodiversity hotspot. KTR is home to tiger, leopard, wild dog, elephant, Indian gaur, great Indian hornbill, Castlerock night frog and many other charismatic species of endangered and endemic flora and fauna. KTR is also part of the Western Ghats tiger landscape and adjoining forest areas form an important tiger corridor of the central Western Ghats connecting the tiger habitats in Karnataka, Goa and southern Maharashtra. Further, the reserve is the place of origin and catchment basin for the Kali river.
  • Bandipur Tiger Reserve has scored again, this time getting top marks in Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) for tiger reserves in India. The evaluation was done by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII), an autonomous institute of Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change.
  • The decision to notify the Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka, popularly known as the MM Hills, as a tiger reserve was once again postponed by the wildlife board headed by Chief Minister. If MM Hills is notified as a tiger reserve, Chamarajanagar will become the first district in the country to have three tiger sanctuaries. The district already houses the Bandipur Tiger Reserve and the BRT Tiger Reserve. The Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary maintains continuity to the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in Tamil Nadu through the MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and the BRT Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. The MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary shares its borders with the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, BRT Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu so there is a huge movement of tigers in this corridor.

Tiger Census-2022

• • On April 9, 2022, during the celebration of 50 years of the Project Tigerat Mysusru, Hon’ble Prime Minister declared the minimum tiger population of 3167, which is the population estimate from the camera-trapped area.
  • Now, further analysis of data, done by the Wildlife Institute of India, from both camera-trapped and non-camera-trapped tiger presence areas, the upper limit of the tiger population is estimated to be 3925 and the average number is 3682 tigers, reflecting a commendable annual growth rate of 6.1% per annum.
  • The largest tiger population of 785 is in Madhya Pradesh, followed by Karnataka (563) & Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444).
  • The tiger abundance within the Tiger Reserve is highest in Corbett (260), followed by Bandipur (150), Nagarhole (141), Bandhavgarh (135), Dudhwa (135).
  • Apart from the All-India Tiger Estimation 2022 report, a report on the reserves and management effectiveness and evaluation report were also released. Six tiger reserves in the country — Kali, Melghat, Pilibhit, Tadoba Andhari, Navegaon and Periyar — were given CAT awards.

Source: Wikipedia

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