Sariska Tiger Reserve

Context:

Recently, a massive fire broke out inside the Sariska Tiger Reserve (Rajasthan). The fire spread and destroyed around 10 sq km of forests despite timely satellite warnings and the availability of a real-time mobile application-based fire response system.

Sariska Tiger Reserve

• It covers an area of 800 sq km in total, with a core area of approximately 500 sq km.
• Sariska Tiger Reserve is located in Aravali hills and forms a part of the Alwar District of Rajasthan.
• Sariska was declared a sanctuary in 1955, and it became a National Park in 1979.
• Later in 1978, making it a part of India’s Project Tiger.
• It has a good diversity of wild animals like nilgai, tigers, leopard, hyena, rhesus macaque, caracal, jungle cat, ratel, sambar deer, spotted deer, langur, four-horned antelope, wild pig, Indian civet, Rufous-tailed hare, common mongoose, ruddy mongoose, palm civet, porcupine, pangolin etc.
• The reserve comprises several varieties of bird species including migrants like peafowl, grey francolin, white-rumped vulture, painted spurfowl, aravalli red spurfowl, Indian cuckoo, Indian pitta, great horned owl, common sand grouse, golden-backed woodpeckers, crested serpent eagles, harbours quail etc.
• It has scrub thorn arid forests, grasses, rocky landscape, hilly cliffs and semi-deciduous wood. Trees like Tendu, Dhok and Khair are also found in its forests.
• Important tourist spots inside the Sariska National Park include Siliserh Lake, which is home to many crocodiles, ruins of Ajabgarh Bhangarh Fort, Kankwari Fort, Nilkanth Temple, Bharthari Temple etc.

Project Tiger

• There were 40000 tigers in 1900 but only 1800 left in 1972.
• Project Tiger was launched in 1973 with 9 tiger reserves for conserving our national animal, the tiger. Currently, the Project Tiger coverage has increased to 53, spread out in 18 tiger range states.
• The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy. The core areas have the legal status of a national park or a sanctuary, whereas the buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land, managed as a multiple-use area.
• It is an ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change providing central assistance to the tiger States for tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves.
• The NTCA was launched in 2005, following the recommendations of the Tiger Task Force. It was given statutory status by the 2006 amendment of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Other Protected Areas of Rajasthan?

• Desert National Park, Jaisalmer
• Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur
• Ranthambore National Park
• Sajjangarh wildlife sanctuary, Udaipur
• National Chambal Sanctuary (on tri-junction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh).
• Recently, the Ramgarh Vishdhari wildlife sanctuary received a nod from the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA) technical committee to become the 4^th Tiger reserve of Rajasthan.

List of Tiger Reserves in India

Source: The Hindu

You can find many articles on GEOGRAPHY (part of GS I) in our website. Go through these articles share with your friends and post your views in comment section.