News: Madhya Pradesh might soon its seventh tiger reserve — the Ratapani Tiger Reserve. The proposed reserve will be carved out of the Ratapani wildlife sanctuary which is spread over Raisen and Sehore districts.
Facts:
About Tiger Reserves:
- Tiger Reserves are protected area that aim at conserving the habitat to ensure a viable population of the tigers along with their prey base in their habitat. They are established under the Project Tiger.
- India launched Project Tiger in 1973 with an aim to limit factors that leads to reduction of tiger habitats and to mitigate them by suitable management.
- Jim Corbett in Uttarakhand is the first Tiger Reserve to be established under Project Tiger. At present, there are 50 tiger reserves in India. Orang Tiger Reserve in Assam is the 49Th tiger reserve and Kamlang Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh is the 50th.
- National Tiger Conservation Authority, established in 2005, oversees management of Project Tiger and Tiger Reserves in India.
Tiger Reserves in Madhya Pradesh:
- There are 6 Tiger Reserves in Madhya Pradesh:
- Kanha Tiger Reserve
- Pench Tiger Reserve
- Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve
- Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve
- Bori- Satpura Tiger Reserve
- Panna Tiger Reserve
Additional Information:
- According to All India Tiger Estimation Report– 2018, Madhya Pradesh has highest number of tigers (526), followed by Karnataka (524) and Uttarakhand (442). Madhya Pradesh is thus called Tiger State of India.
- According to 4th cycle of the Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves (MEETR), Madhya Pradesh’s Pench sanctuary and Kerala’s Periyar sanctuary has been designated as best managed Tiger Reserves in India with a score of 93.75%
