About

●It is the only Tiger Reserve  in Jharkhand state.

●It was part of India’s first nine tiger reserves which were declared after the Union Government launched Project Tiger in 1973.

●It forms part of Betla National Park and Palamau Wildlife Sanctuary.

Location

●Latehar district on the Chhota Nagpur plateau in Jharkhand.

Area

●The tiger reserve has a total area of 1,129.93 square kilometres with a core area of 414.93 km² and a buffer area of 650 km².

Rivers

●North Koyal, Auranga, and Burha pass through the Reserve.

Fauna

●Apart from tigers and elephants, leopards, gaurs, sambars and wild dogs live in the reserve.

●Over 140 species of birds (including peafowl) have been sighted in the reserve.

Flora

●The habitat is primarily dominated by Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous Sal (Shorea robusta) forest and its associates.

●Smaller patches of Northern tropical Moist Deciduous forests exist too, apart from five subtypes, i.e., (i) Moist peninsular Sal (ii) Dry peninsular Sal) (iii) Northern Dry Mixed Deciduous (iv) Aegle and (v) Dry Bamboo Brake.

●Other flora found here includes: Acacia catechu, Madhuca indica, Terminalia tomentosa, Butea monosperma, Pterocarpus marsupium, Anogeisus latifolia, Indigofera pulchela, etc.

Mineral Resources

●There is a formation of gneiss, granite and limestone and the reserve is very rich in minerals like Bauxite and Coal.

Threats to the reserve

●Increased pressure from human activities, including illegal settlement and poaching, has reduced the number of tigers and the ability of the reserve to support more tigers.

●Funding and lack of an adequate management plan for the reserve.

●Staff shortage, monitoring, protection and conservation work are not applied in all regions of this reserve.

●Naxalites' existence along with the difficult terrain makes proper surveillance and implementation of conservation measures tough.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q.Consider the following statements about the Palamau tiger reserve:

1. It is located in the Chhota Nagpur plateau region in Chhattisgarh.
2. It forms part of Betla National Park and Palamau Wildlife Sanctuary.
3. Damodar River passes through the reserve.

How many of the above statements is/are correct?

A. Only one

B. Only two

C. All Three

D. None

Answer: A

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: It is located in the Latehar district on the Chhota Nagpur plateau in Jharkhand.

Statement 2 is correct: It is the only Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand state. It was part of India’s first nine tiger reserves which were declared after the Union Government launched Project Tiger in 1973. It forms part of Betla National Park and Palamau Wildlife Sanctuary.

Statement 3 is incorrect: North Koyal, Auranga, and Burha pass through the Reserve.