Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

provides legal protection to its

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

population through six dedicated

tiger reserves The tiger reserves of India were set up in 1973 and are governed by Project Tiger, which is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Until 2018, 50 protected areas have been designated tiger reserves. In 2022, 53rd tiger reserve ...

under the precincts of the

National Tiger Conservation Authority The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established in December 2005, following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganised management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Re ...

. under the initiative ''

Project Tiger Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, protecti ...

''. These reserves cumulatively cover an estimated area of 9,113km² which is about 3% of the total state area. Citing the presence of tigers in two wild-life sanctuaries, environmentalists had put forth a proposal to declare

Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary Umred-Pauni-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, about 50 km from Nagpur and 60 km from Bhandara, is spread over Pauni Tahsil of Bhandara district and Umred, Kuhi and Bhivapur Taluka of Nagpur district. This sanctuary has a connection with T ...

and Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary as tiger reserves. This would result in creation of a tiger corridor for migration of tigers between different reserves to encourage genetic dispersion. As of October 2016, this proposal has been rejected.

History

Tiger reserves came to be created under the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's flagship program ''Project Tiger''. It envisioned to create a safe heaven for tigers to flourish and receive legal protection against poachers. Melghat is the among the first nine tiger reserves to be declared in 1973-74 with

Gugamal National Park Gugamal National Park is an Indian national park that is one of seven protected areas in the Melghat Tiger Reserve. Founded on 22 February 1974, this park is located in the Chikhaldara and Dharni tehsils of Amravati, Maharashtra. Wildlife ...

as its core zone along with adjoining Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary and deciduous rich forest zones. Subsequently, over the years, five additional reserves were created. Tadoba National Park, formed in 1955, is one of the oldest national parks. In 1993 its merge with Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary led to the creation of Tadobo Andhari Tiger Reserve.

Tiger census

As of 2015, among all the Indian states, Maharashtra has the fifth largest tiger population. The tiger population in the state shows a consistent rise from 103 in 2006 to 169 in 2010. The recent census in 2015 shows a rise to 190 which is a 12% increase between 2010-15.In 4th tiger census of 2018 tiger population has raised to 312.

List of tiger reserves

The numbers of the tigers in each of the tiger reserves are not mentioned To find out about the same please visit the given below link https://bigcatsindia.com/tiger-reserves-in-maharashtra/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiger Reserves Of India Wildlife conservation in India Wildlife sanctuaries in Maharashtra Conservation-reliant species