Tiger Reserves in India

[Rishi]

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Update: While the much larger & inviolate core area of Rajaji is finally about to get its tiger relocation, another new Tiger Reserve is to be cleared soon. 

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The Shivalik Range of western Uttar Pradesh to become Tiger Reserve within the year, 4th one in the state.

Marked (3) in themap below, it is the western-most extent of Terai Arc tiger-landscape in India. 

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Spread over 330 km², the forest is located in Saharanpur District on the Shivalik range just west of Rajaji National Park located across the interstate boundary into Uttarakhand. The Uttarakhand government’s plan to translocate a few tigers in the nearby Motichur range of Rajaji National Park from other places in the hill state would strengthen the proposal to declare Shivalik forest as a tiger reserve due to its proximity, said VK Jain, Saharanpur division’s chief conservator of forests.

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Stretching west till the boundary of the Kalesar wildlife sanctuary in Haryana and the Simbalbara National Park in Himachal Pradesh,  this will eventually open up new avenues for the tigers to expand in the northwestern direction along forests of Himalayan foothills. "After the translocation of tigers in western Rajaji Park, these big cats could venture into the Shivalik forest in the next few years, turning it into a potential corridor for tigers," said Dr Vibhas Pandav, a scientist with the Wildlife Institute of India. 

Jain said direct sighting of tigers were reported in the forest till 2005 and many people claimed such sightings till 2008-09.

The forest department has carried out an intensive six-month trap camera survey in the forest with technical and other assistance from experts of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The survey counted a population of over 50 leopards, different herbivorous animals, civets, snakes and species of birds, which indicates it has a rich biodiversity to support the presence of tigers.

Divisional commissioner Sanjay Kumar said 400 families of Van Gujjars lived inside the forest and earned their livelihood by selling milk. Each family has its own herd of buffaloes. He said 40 families would be rehabilitated in 1st two months & the process would continue until all families were relocated and benefitted from government schemes. Reply