Ratapani Tiger Reserve
| Ratapani Tiger Reserve | |
|---|---|
| Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary | |
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Official logo of Ratapani Sanctuary | |
Location in Madhya Pradesh Ratapani Tiger Reserve (India) | |
| Location | Raisen district in Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Coordinates | 22°55′05″N 77°43′19″E / 22.918°N 77.722°E[1] |
| Area | 1,271.465 km2 (490.915 sq mi)[2] |
| Established |
|
| Governing body | Forest Department, Madhya Pradesh |
| Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary | |
Ratapani Tiger Reserve a tiger reserve in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh in central India. It has been a wildlife sanctuary since 1976 and was declared as a tiger reserve in 2024.[3]
History
Ratapani was declared as a wildlife sanctuary 1976.[4] In accordance with the directives issued by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in December 2024, the Ratapani forest has been designated as the eighth tiger reserve in the state.[2]
Geography
The Ratapani Tiger Reserve is located in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh. It encompasses a total area of 1,271.465 km2 (490.915 sq mi), which includes a core area of 763.812 km2 (294.909 sq mi) and a buffer zone of 507.653 km2 (196.006 sq mi).[2] The landscape is undulating, with hills, plateaus, valleys and plains. A number of seasonal streams irrigate the site in the monsoon, and water is retained in some pools along these streams even in the summer. Two large reservoirs, namely Barna Reservoir and Ratapani Dam (Barrusot lake) are among the major waterbodies adjacent to or inside the sanctuary. Bhimbetka rock shelters, are located within this tiger reserve. These rock shelters were inhabited by man hundreds of thousand years ago and some of the rock paintings of the Stone Age are more than 30,000 years old. It has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.[5]
Flora
The forest of Ratapani is dry deciduous and moist deciduous type, with teak (Tectona grandis) as the main tree species. About 55% of the area is covered by teak. The remaining mixed forests consist of various dry deciduous species. Bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus) overlaps the two aforementioned forest types and covers about one quarter of the forest area.[5]
Fauna
Carnivores in the sanctuary include the Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, dhole, striped hyena, golden jackal and fox; herbivores include chital, sambar, nilgai, four-horned antelope and wild boar, and langur and rhesus macaque. The sloth bear is also seen often. Smaller animals, like squirrels, mongooses, gerbils, porcupines, hares are common. Reptiles include lizards, chameleon, cobra, python, viper and krait.[5]
Birds
Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary harbours more than 150 bird species including the common babbler, coppersmith barbet, black drongo, blue jay, rock dove, bulbul, bee-eater, cuckoo, kingfishers, kite, lark, Bengal vulture, sunbirds, white wagtail, crow pheasant, jungle crow, egrets, myna, jungle fowl, parakeets, partridges, hoopoe, quails, woodpeckers, dove, flycatcher and flower pecker.[5]
Oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus) and red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) are also present. Migratory birds congregate near Ratapani dam in winter. Reservoirs attract waterfowl and wading birds such as the sarus crane (Grus antigone), painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala), black-necked stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) and white-necked stork (Ciconia episcopus).
References
- ^ "Kheoni". protectedplanet.net.
- ^ a b c "Ratapani forest notified as eighth tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- ^ "Madhya Pradesh gets its eighth tiger reserve in Ratapani". The Indian Express. 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- ^ "Milestone Initiatives:National Tiger Conservation Authority / Project Tiger". Archived from the original on 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
- ^ a b c d Tiwari, S.K. (1997). "Ratapani Sanctuary". Wildlife Sanctuaries of Madhya Pradesh. APH Publishing Corporation. pp. 91–96. ISBN 9788170248101.