Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary is now notified as a tiger reserve after a nod by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). When an area gets notified as a wildlife reserve, it is protected by law. Ramgarh Vishdhari is now India’s 52nd tiger reserve and Rajasthan’s fourth, after Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) in Sawai Madhopur, Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) in Alwar, and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) in Kota.
Bhupender Yadav, Union environment minister, shared the news via microblogging site Twitter. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav tweeted, “Pleased to note Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve has been notified today. The 52nd Reserve of India will conserve biodiversity and bring in ecotourism and development to the area. Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modiji, we are committed to preserving our wildlife.”
It will help to conserve biodiversity and bring ecotourism and development to the area. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had given in-principle approval to make Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary and adjoining areas as tiger reserves on July 5 last year. There were an estimated 2,967 tigers in India in 2019, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve
- Ramgarh Vishadhri, located mostly in Bundi district and in part in Bhilwara and Kota districts.
- It is also home to the Indian wolf, leopard, striped hyena, chinkara, antelope and foxes among other animals.
- It is now India’s 52nd tiger reserve and Rajasthan’s fourth, after Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra.
- The reserve will be spread in an area of 1,501.89 sq km.
- The area has been called ‘critical’ for the movement of tigers by wildlife experts and conservationists.
- Though the tiger population in Ramgarh itself was not high, it plays an important role in connecting the Ranthambore and Mukundra Tiger Reserves of Rajasthan.
Yadavendradev Jhala, dean, Wildlife Institute of India, said “ Though the tiger population in Ramgarh itself was not high, it played an important role in connecting the Ranthambore and Mukundra Tiger Reserves of Rajasthan. The population in this area will probably never be very high because it is a small area. But since it is an important area for tiger connectivity, the conservation efforts and funding that will be deployed there now will benefit the population of the big cats.”
Sedu Ram Yadav, the field director of Mukundra Tiger Reserve, quoted that the new tiger reserve will help in controlling overpopulation in Ranthambore as the number of tigers there is rising rapidly.
Wildlife experts were worried about overpopulation in Ranthambore after the number of tigers rose to 80. The increase was causing territorial fights among the big cats, according to scientists.
“Currently there are 80 tigers in Ranthambore, which is spread over 1,334 sq km. One of the male tigers, T-115, dispersed to Ramgarh Vishadhri and is often spotted there. This corridor will give tigers a bigger area to move around and control the overpopulation, and hence territorial fights, in Ranthambore,” he said. There is one tigress in Mukundra at present, who migrated there in April 2019.
Tapeshwar Singh Bhati, a wildlife activist in Rajasthan, said “The move will not only help protect an important wildlife corridor, it will also aid in habitat improvement for other animals.”
“This has brought a huge area of the state under a continuous patch of connected and protected forests and should solve the overpopulation problem of Ranthambore as tigers will be able to migrate to Mukundara and Ramgarh Vishadhri more easily now,” he added.
