Ranthambore Tiger Sanctuary: Rajasthan
Six tigers are missing in Ranthambore Tiger Sanctuary (Rajasthan).
Key Points
About:
- Ranthambore Tiger Reserve lies in the eastern part of Rajasthan state in Karauli and Sawai Madhopur districts, at the junction of the Aravali and Vindhya hill ranges.
- It comprises the Ranthambore National Park as well as Sawai Mansingh and Kailadevi santcuaries.
- The Ranthambore fort, from which the forests derive their name, is said to have a rich history of over 1000 years. It is strategically located atop a 700 feet tall hill within the park and is believed to have been built in 944 AD by a Chauhan ruler.
- This isolated area with tigers in it represents the north-western limit of the Bengal tiger’s distribution range and is an outstanding example of Project Tiger’s efforts for conservation in the country.
Features:
- India has 2,967 tigers, a third more than in 2014, according to results of a census made public in July Ranthambore, according to this exercise, had 55 tigers
- The reserve consists of highly fragmented forest patches, ravines, river streams and agricultural land.
- It is connected to Kuno-Palpur Landscape in Madhya Pradesh, through parts of Kailadevi Wildlife Sanctuary, the ravine habitats of Chambal and the forest patches of sheopur.
- Tributaries of River Chambal provide easy passage for tigers to move towards the Kuno National park.
Vegetation and Wildlife:
- The vegetation includes grasslands on plateaus and dense forests along the seasonal stream.
- The forest type is mainly tropical dry deciduous with ‘dhak’ (Butea monosperma), a species of tree capable of withstanding long periods of drought, being the commonast.
- This tree is also called as ‘Flame of forest’ and is one of the many flowering plants that add colour to the dry summers here.
- The park is rich in wildlife with tigers at the apex of the food chain in mammal.
- Other animals found here are leopards, striped hyenas, common or hanuman langurs, rhesus macaques, jackals, jungle cats, caracals, blackbuck, Blacknaped hare and chinkara,
- The park is rich in birds with about 272 species recorded so far.
Other Protected Areas in Rajasthan:
- Sariska National Park, Alwar
- Desert National Park, Jaisalmer
- Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur
- Sajjangarh wildlife sanctuary, Udaipur
- National Chambal Sanctuary (on tri-junction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh)