Uttar Pradesh

• 10 Dec 2024

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve

Why in News?

Recently, a probe has been ordered after a viral video surfaced, showing a fleet of vehicles allegedly belonging to a minister in Uttar Pradesh passing through the core area of the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve. This raised concerns about the breach of forest regulations.

Key Points

• As per forest department regulations, private vehicles are strictly barred from entering the core area, allowing access only to forest department vehicles or those authorized for safari tours.
• Pilibhit Tiger Reserve:
  • It is located in Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
  • It was notified as a Tiger Reserve in 2014.
    • In 2020, it bagged international award TX2 for doubling up the number of tigers in the past four years.
  • It forms part of Terai Arc Landscape in the upper Gangetic Plain.
  • The northern edge of the reserve lies along the Indo-Nepal border while the southern boundary is marked by the river Sharada and Khakra.
  • Flora and Fauna:
    • It is home to a habitat for over 127 animals, 326 bird species and 2,100 flowering plants.
    • Wild animals include tiger, swamp deer, bengal florican, leopard, etc.
    • It has high sal forests, plantations and grasslands with several water bodies.

Tiger Reserves

• A protected area designated for the conservation of the striped big cats (tigers) is referred to as Tiger Reserve. However, a tiger reserve may also be a national park or wildlife sanctuary.
  • For Example: The Sariska Tiger Reserve is also a national park. It is so because the place was originally created as a national park and later dedicated to tiger conservation.
• Tiger Reserves are notified by State Governments as per provisions of Section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 on advice of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

TX2 Award

• It goes to one site that has achieved remarkable and measurable increase in its tiger population since 2010.