Dudhwa Tiger Reserve

Context

• Recently, a tigress, aged around 1 to 2 years old, was found dead in the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve area. The carcass was recovered from the Mailavi range forests in the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve area near chhedipur Village on the Gola – pilibhit road.
• All vital organs of the tigress were found intact, barring some abrasion marks on the carcass indicating the casualty due to some road accident.

About Dudhwa Tiger Reserve –

• It is a protected area in Uttar Pradesh and stretches across the Lakhimpur Kheri and Bahraich Districts.
• It mainly comprises – Dudhwa National Parks, Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary , Katarniyaghat wildlife sanctuary covering an area of 1284.3 km2, inducing three large forest fragments.
• Through Dudhwa National Parks , Suheli and Mohana streams flow. Dudhwa National park got the national park status in 1977.
• It is one of the finest examples of exceedingly diverse Terai eco-system.
• In the north of the reserve , river Mohana flows along the Indo – Nepal border while the southern boundary is marked by the river Suheli.
• In 1987 – 88, it became a part of Project Tiger and was made a Tiger Reserve.

Flora

• Northern tropical semi – evergreen Forest, northern moist deciduous forest, Damar Sal forests , moist Bhabar Sal, savannah woodland.

Fauna

• It is the only place in the country to hold a potentially viable population of northern swamp deer.
• It is also home to sizable tiger population and some critically endangered species such as the Bengal Florian and Hispid Hare.
• The great Indian one – horned Rhinoceros also found here.

Key points-

• Tiger – IUCN status – endangered
• Indian wildlife protection Act 1992 – schedule 1
• Cites - appendix I.
• Largest Tiger Reserve – Nagarjuna Sirsailam Tiger Reserve, (Andhra Pradesh).
• Smallest Tiger Reserve – Orang National Park, (Assam).