Uttar Pradesh gears up for its fourth tiger reserve in Chitrakoot

Lucknow, Oct 01: The Uttar Pradesh cabinet had on Sep 27th approved the notification of the State's fourth tiger reserve. It will come up in Chitrakoot district's Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS). The planned reserve will also be the first in the state's portion in the Bundelkhand region. The other tiger reserves in Uttar Pradesh includes Dudhwa, Pilibhit, and Amangarh (buffer of Corbett Tiger Reserve).

The State cabinet approved the notification under Section 38 (v) of the Wild life (Protection) Act of 1972. The sanctuary does not have any tiger of its own, however, pugmarks are frequently seen which belong to the tiger from nearby Panna. The reserve will span across 529.89 square km, with a 299.58 sq. km buffer zone and 230 sq. km core area, which was already notified as the RWS in 1977.

Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS)

Founded in 1977, Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary is home to dry deciduous forest of Bamboo, Palash, Khair, Mahua, Dhau, Saal, Tendu, etc. Among animals, Blackduck, Chinkara, Sambar, Cheetal, Bear, Leopard, Wolf, Wild dog, Blue bull, etc, can be found in the sanctuary.

According to the report, "Status of tigers, co-predators & prey in India" by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), RWS is an important corridor for the movement of tigers. 12 photo-captures of 3 tigers were recorded during a camera trapping in 2018 by NTCA, which confirmed tiger sightings in the sanctuary.

India's 54th Tiger Reserve

Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary will be the 54th tiger reserve in India. The sanctuary when established will contribute towards the protection and conservation of tigers in the region.

According to a press release on August 10, India is home to 52 tiger reserves covering approximately 75,000 Sq Km area in 18 States with approximately 75% population of the wild tiger at global level. India achieved the goal of doubling the tiger numbers in 2018 itself, four years in advance from the targeted year 2022. Also, so far 17 tiger reserves in the country have got CA|TS international accreditation and two tiger reserves have got international Tx2 Award.