| Sariska Tiger Reserve | |
| Location | Alwar District, Rajasthan |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Alwar, Rajasthan, India |
| Area | 866 km² |
| Established | 1955 |
The Sariska Tiger Reserve is one of the most famous national parks in India located in the Alwar district of the state of Rajasthan. This area was a hunting preserve of the erstwhile Alwar state and it was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955. In 1978, it was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India's Project Tiger scheme. The present area of the park is 866 km². The park is situated 107 km from Jaipur and 200 km from Delhi.[1]
Some of the wildlife found in the Sariska Tiger Reserve include the Bengal tiger, leopard, jungle cat, caracal, striped hyena, golden jackal, chital, sambhar, nilgai, chinkara, four-horned antelope 'chousingha', wild boar, hare, hanuman langur, and plenty of bird species and reptiles. The reserve's tiger population disappeared in 2005. However, the relocation programme started in 2008.
Dominant tree in the forests is dhok (Anogeissus pendula). Other trees are e.g. salar (Boswellia serrata), kadaya (Sterculia urens), dhak (Butea monosperma), gol (Lannea coromandelica), ber (Ziziphus mauritiana) and khair (Acacia catechu). Bargad (Ficus benghalensis), arjun (Terminalia arjuna), gugal (Commiphora wightii) or bamboo can also be met at some places. Shubs are numerous, such as kair (Capparis decidua), adusta (Adhatoda vesica) and jhar ber (Ziziphus nummularia).
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Historical places
The reserve is also the location of several sites of historical importance such as the 17th-century Kankwadi fort, originally built by Jai Singh II, is located near the centre of the park. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb briefly imprisoned there his brother Dara Shikoh in the struggle for succession of the throne. Pandupol in the hills in the centre of the reserve is believed to be one of the retreats of Pandava. Hanuman temple in Pandupol is a favourite pilgrimage site which is the source of problems to wildlife especially due to heavy traffic. Nilkanth temples were built by Badgujars. Neelkanth or Rajor Garh was the capital of Badgujars. Tal Briksh to the north is special by its warm water spring. Bhartrihari, not far from the Sariska village, is crowded by pilgrims. The ruler of Ujjain, Raja Bhartrihari meditated at this place. The area also has buildings associated with the kings of Alwar such as the Sariska Palace, which was used as a royal hunting lodge of Maharaja Jai Singh.
Tiger population
In 2004, there were strong and persistent reports that no tigers were being sighted in Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. It was not only that tigers were not being seen but also and more alarmingly, there were no indirect evidence of tiger’s presence (such as pugmarks, scratch marks on trees etc.) being found. The Rajasthan Forest Department took the stand that "the tigers had temporarily migrated outside the reserve and would be back after the rains". The Project Tiger, now National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), backed this assumption. There were some 15 tigers in the last years before. In January 2005, journalist Jay Mazoomdaar broke the news [2] that there were no tigers left in Sariska. Soon the Rajasthan Forest Department and the Project Tiger Directorate declared an "emergency tiger census" in Sariska and the Central Bureau of Investigation, India's premier intelligence agency, conducted a probe. After a two month exercise they finally declared that Sariska indeed did not have any tigers left. Poaching was blamed to be one of the major reasons for the disappearance of tiger.[3]
Relocation efforts
In 2005, the Government of Rajasthan in co-operation with the Government of India and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) planned the re-introduction of tiger to Sariska and also the relocation of villages.[4] Some plans to construct by-pass roads were also there.[5] However, it took several years to take a more concrete steps. It was decided to move one male and two female tigers from Ranthambore National Park.[6] The Rajasthan forest officials rushed to fly two tigers from Ranthambhore in June-July 2008 ignoring recommendations of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Tiger Task Force. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) along with the Government of Rajasthan started tracking the relocated tigers with the help of ISRO's reconnaissance satellites.[7] This operation was successful and when the relocated male tiger made its first kill in the enclosure there was a hope that the tigers may adopt themselves to the new enviromnent in Sariska reserve.[8] But they need to be taken care off very well for ensuring their survival, this needs cooperation from all of us. Only one of the four villages, Bhagani, inside the reserve that seriously should be relocated, according to the expert suggestions prior the re-introduction of tigers, has been recently shifted. Other issue that is critical for wildlife, the diversion of roads crossing the reserve, is a never ending story.[9]
One more tigress was shifted to Sariska from Ranthambhore in February 2009[10]. Thus, the reserve has one tiger and two tigresses. Two more tigers are expected to be relocated to Sariska in near future.
General information
- Area: 866 km² total (497 km² core, 369 km² buffer)
- Altitude: Between 300 m and 722 m MSL
- Rainfall: Average 650 mm (per year)
- Forest Types: Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn
References
- ^ Sariska National Park,Sariska Tiger Reserve
- ^ The Indian Express:
- ^ WPSI - Wildlife Protection Society of India - Tiger Reserves Sariska
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1225265.cms
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/608870.cms
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sariska_to_get_three_tigers/articleshow/2838422.cms
- ^ India turns to spy technology to save tigers - Environment - The Independent
- ^ Tiger adapts to Sariska, makes first kill-Flora & Fauna-Earth-The Times of India
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Jaipur/Panel_on_Sariska_Tiger_Reserve_vetoes_road_conversion_proposal_/articleshow/3442532.cms
- ^ http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/06/stories/2009030656230800.htm
External links
- Government of India - Project Tiger
- Rajasthan Forest Department - Sariska
- Wildlife Protection Society of India
- Article at National Geographic
- Travelogue and photographs of Sariska
- Article at Down To Earth
- Article at The Pioneer
- Tiger Task Force
Further reading
- Dang, Himraj (2005) Sariska National Park. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi ISBN 81-7387-177-9
- 'Ziddi', Dr. Suraj (1998) A guide to the wildlife parks of Rajasthan. Photo Eye Publications, Jaipur
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