Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve

7th tiger reserve of Madhya Pradesh created

Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve

This topic is related to IAS and PCS Prelims Exam Current Affairs Tiger Riserve and Mains Exam: General Studies Paper-3 (Biodiversity Conservation)

September 25,2023

In News:

  • Recently, the National Tiger Conservation Authority has declared Nauradehi and Veerangana Durgavati Protected Area of Madhya Pradesh as the new tiger reserve of the country.
  • This new tiger reserve has been named Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve.
  • This is the seventh tiger reserve of Madhya Pradesh. Whereas this is the 55th tiger reserve of the country.

About Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve:

key points

  • This tiger reserve has been created by combining Nauradehi Sanctuary of Sagar district and the smallest Veerangana Rani Durgavati Sanctuary of Madhya Pradesh.
  • About 1,41,400  hectare forest area of Sagar, Damoh, Narsinghpur districts has been included in this Tiger Reserve.
  • 1,414 square kilometers of this area is included in the core zone and 925.12 square kilometers is included in the buffer zone.
  • National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India, after scientific study, have considered Nauradehi Sanctuary as a suitable area for future conservation of tigers.
  • According to the Forest Department, Nauradehi Sanctuary was established in 1975. It is spread over an area of approximately 1200 square km.
  • It has a large number of wildlife, among which leopards are mainly found. Due to lack of protection in the last few decades, many tigers have become extinct in this area.
  • New tigers and tigresses were released in Nauradehi Sanctuary in the year 2018 with the aim of enhancing environmental protection and ecosystem protection. At present, there are 12 tigers in Nauradehi sanctuary.
  • Apart from this, many other wild animals including chinkara, deer, nilgai, jackal, wolf, hyena, wild dog, bear, crocodile, sambar, peacock, chital are found in this area.
  • Under the Cheetah Action Plan, Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary is being conserved and promoted by the Central Government as a highly vulnerable area for future tigers.

Madhya Pradesh: A Tiger State

  • According to the animal census of the year 2022, Madhya Pradesh is a tiger state of India.
  • According to the report ‘Status of Tigers: Co-Predators and Prey in India-2022’ released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India in July, 2023, Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tigers in the country.
  • Currently, the number of tigers in this state is 785 which was 526 in 2018. After this, the number of tigers in Karnataka and Uttarakhand is 563 and 560 respectively.
  • Presently, Madhya Pradesh has become the state with maximum seven tiger reserves in the country.
  • These tiger reserves include: Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Satpura, Pench, Panna, Sanjay-Dubri and Veerangana Durgavati.

Important facts related to tiger conservation:

  • In August, 2023, Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve was declared the 54th tiger reserve of the country.
  • The 53rd tiger reserve in India is Ranipur in Uttar Pradesh.
  • Nagarjuna Sagar (Andhra Pradesh) is the largest tiger reserve while Orang (Assam) is the smallest (core area).
  • At the time of the beginning of Project Tiger in the year 1973, there were only 9 tiger reserves in the country, currently the total number of tiger reserves in the country has increased to 55.
  • International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA) was launched by India for the conservation of seven big cats namely tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma.
  • The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was constituted in 2006 under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
  • The largest population of tigers is found in the central Indian highlands and the Eastern Ghats.
  • The tiger is listed as 'endangered' in the IUCN Red List.
  • Since the entire food chain of an ecosystem depends on the top level organisms. Therefore, special attention is paid to the conservation of tigers to maintain the balance of the ecosystem.

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Mains Exam Question

Why is tiger conservation necessary in India? Explain the ecological significance of tigers.