Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under “Critical Tiger Habitat”?
- Corbett
- Ranthambore
- Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam
- Sunderbans
Explanation
Option (c) is correct
- Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve stands as the largest tiger reserve in India and possesses the most expansive core/critical tiger habitat within its boundaries. It spans the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and lies in the Nallamala Hills. The Krishna River flows through the reserve, while both the Srisailam Reservoir and Nagarjunasagar Reservoir lie within its boundaries.
- Vegetation: tropical dry mixed deciduous forest.
- Major Fauna: Bengal tiger (EN), leopard, Indian pangolin (EN), spotted deer (chital) (LC), sambar (VU), blackbuck, chinkara, four-horned antelope (chausingha) (VU), mugger (marsh crocodile) (VU), etc.
Option (a) is incorrect
- Jim Corbett National Park, Corbett Tiger Reserve, is the oldest National Park in India and is located in Nainital. In 1936, it was established to protect the Bengal tiger. It was named after Jim Corbett, a well-known hunter and naturalist. The park was the first National Park to come under the Project Tiger initiative. Corbett Tiger Reserve’s core area is formed by Jim Corbett National Park, while the buffer contains Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary. Ramganga, Sonanadi and Kosi are the major rivers flowing through the National Park and Ramganga Reservoir is located within the National Park.
- Vegetation: Dense, moist deciduous forests, marshy depressions and grasslands.
- Major Fauna: Bengal tigers, elephants, leopards, Himalayan black bears, Himalayan goral, rhesus macaque.
- Local crocodiles and gharials were saved from extinction by captive breeding programs that subsequently released crocodiles into the Ramganga River.
- Threats: Invasive weeds and poaching.
- Corbett National Park is one of the thirteen protected areas covered by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature under their Terai Arc Landscape Program.
Option (b) is incorrect
- Ranthambhore National Park, Tiger Reserve is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. According to experts, there is overcrowding at the Ranthambore reserve. The Rajasthan government has announced plans to develop the Bundi Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve, providing a second habitat for tigers alongside the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.
- Vegetation: Dry deciduous forests and grasslands.
- Major Fauna: Bengal Tiger, leopard, nilgai, sambar.
- Major Reptilian Fauna: Mugger crocodile.
- Threats: Poaching, poisoning of tigers by villagers, habitat fragmentation.
Option (d) is incorrect
- Sunderban Biosphere Reserve, National Park, Tiger Reserve is the largest delta and mangrove forest in the world. Sundarbans National Park is a part of the Sundarbans on the Ganges Delta and is adjacent to the Sundarban Reserve Forest in Bangladesh. It is bound on the west by river Muriganga and on the east by rivers Harinbhahga and Raimangal. It is also a BR, a Tiger Reserve, a Ramsar Site, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The eco-geography of this area is dependent on the tidal effect. The tidal action deposits silts back on the channels, raising the bed and forming new islands and creeks.
- Vegetation: Mangrove forests (Sundarbans has achieved its name from the Sundari mangrove tree).
- Major Fauna: Royal Bengal Tiger, saltwater crocodile, river terrapin, olive ridley turtle, Ganges River dolphin, hawksbill turtle, mangrove horseshoe crab.
Additional Information
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