Sariska Tiger Reserve


Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India. It stretches over an area of comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills. This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar state and was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955. It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India's Project Tiger in 1978. The wildlife sanctuary was declared a national park in 1990, with a total area of about. It is the first reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers. It is an important biodiversity area in the Northern Aravalli leopard and wildlife corridor.
The park is situated away from Hindaun, from Jaipur and from Delhi. It is a part of the Aravalli Range and the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion. It is rich in mineral resources, such as copper. In spite of the Supreme Court's 1991 ban on mining in the area, marble mining continues to threaten the environment.

General information

The dominant tree in the forests is dhok. Other trees include the salar, kadaya, dhak, gol, ber and khair. Bargad, arjun, gugal or bamboo. Shrubs are numerous, such as kair, adusta and jhar ber.

Wildlife

Apart from the Bengal tiger, the reserve includes many wildlife species including Indian leopard, jungle cat, caracal, striped hyena, golden jackal, chital, sambar deer, nilgai, wild boar, small Indian civet, Javan mongoose, ruddy mongoose, honey badger, Rhesus macaque and Northern plains gray langur and Indian hare.
Sariska is also ethereal for bird watchers with some of the rarest feathered species like grey partridge, white-throated kingfisher, Indian peafowl, bush quail, sandgrouse, treepie, golden-backed woodpecker, crested serpent eagle and the Indian eagle-owl.
In 2003, 16 tigers lived in the reserve. In 2004, it was reported that no tigers were sighted in the reserve, and that no indirect evidence of tiger presence was found such as pug marks, scratch marks on trees, scats. The Rajasthan Forest Department explained that "the tigers had temporarily migrated outside the reserve and would be back after monsoon season". Project Tiger, now National Tiger Conservation Authority, backed this assumption. In January 2005, it was reported that there were no tigers left in Sariska.
The Rajasthan Forest Department and the Project Tiger Director declared an "emergency tiger census" in Sariska. The Central Bureau of Investigation, India's intelligence agency, conducted a probe. After a two-month investigation, the agency finally declared that no tigers were left in the reserve. Poaching was blamed for the disappearance of tigers.
In July 2008, two tigers from Ranthambhore National Park were relocated to Sariska Tiger Reserve. Another female tiger was relocated in February 2009.
In 2012, two tiger cubs and their mother were spotted in the reserve bringing the total number of tigers to seven with five adults. In July 2014, two more cubs were spotted, so that there were 11 tigers in total.
As of October 2018, there are 18 tigers including five cubs. By 2020, the tiger population in the reserve has risen to 20.

Relocation efforts

In 2005, the Government of Rajasthan, in cooperation with the Government of India and Wildlife Institute of India, planned the re-introduction of tigers to Sariska and also the relocation of villages. Plans to construct a bypass were also discussed. It was decided to import one male and two females from Ranthambore National Park. The Wildlife Institute of India along with the Government of Rajasthan started tracking the relocated tigers with the help of ISRO's reconnaissance satellites. The first aerial translocation of the male tiger from Ranthambhore to Sariska was carried out on 28 June 2008 by helicopter.
Only two of the four villages' experts were actually moved, though the second, Kankwari, was shifted long after the tigers were re-introduced. However, Kankwari fort has been renovated by the state tourism department, which can possibly violate wildlife protection norms. The first relocated village was Bhagani. Also, the diversion of roads crossing the reserve, an issue critical to the survival of its wildlife, continues to be a problem.
One more tigress was shifted to Sariska from Ranthambhore in February 2009. On 28 July 2010, another tigress was brought from Ranthambhore National Park. Totaling five tigers — two males and three females — were living in the reserve until November 2010 when the first relocated tiger died due to poisoning.
Unfortunately, the first three of the relocated tigers came from one father. Moreover, the first two tigresses have the same mother.

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