Maharashtra provides legal protection to its tiger population through six dedicated tiger reserves under the precincts of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. [1] under the initiative Project Tiger . These reserves cumulatively cover an estimated area of 9,113 km2 which is about 3% of the total state area.
Citing the presence of tigers in two wild-life sanctuaries, environmentalists[ who? ] had put forth a proposal to declare Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary and Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary as tiger reserves. [2] 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. [3]
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 among the first nine tiger reserves to be declared in 1973–74 with Gugamal National Park 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 2022, Maharashtra has the fifth-largest tiger population among all Indian states.
The tiger population in the state has shown a consistent rise:
2006: 103 tigers
2010: 169 tigers
2015: 190 tigers (a 12% increase from 2010)
2018: 312 tigers
2022: 444 tigers
The latest census, conducted as part of the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2022, highlights the effectiveness of conservation efforts in the state. Maharashtra's tiger reserves, such as Tadoba-Andhari, Melghat, Pench, Bor, Navegaon-Nagzira, and Sahyadri, have played a crucial role in this growth. [4]
Tiger Reserve | Year declared | Core Area (km2) | Buffer Area (km2) | Total Area (km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Melghat | 1974 | 1,500 | 1,268 | 2,768 |
Tadoba | 1993 | 626 | 1,102 | 1,728 |
Sahyadri | 2007 | 600 | 565 | 1,166 |
Nawegaon-Nagzira | 2013 | 654 | 1241 | 1895 |
Bor | 2014 | 138 | 678 | 816 |
Total | 3775 | 5338 | 9113 | |
The numbers of the tigers in each of the tiger reserves are not mentioned. These can be found at bigcatsindia.com.
Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered tiger. The project was initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India. As of March 2024, there are 55 protected areas that have been designated as tiger reserves under the project. As of 2023, there were 3,682 wild tigers in India, which is almost 75% of the world's wild tiger population.
The rusty-spotted cat is one of the cat family's smallest members, of which historical records are known only from India and Sri Lanka. In 2012, it was also recorded in the western Terai of Nepal. Since 2016, the global wild population is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as it is fragmented and affected by loss and destruction of its prime habitat, deciduous forests.
The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and these two east–west ranges divide Indian Subcontinent into the Indo-Gangetic plain of northern India and the Deccan Plateau of the south. The Narmada River originates from north-eastern end of Satpura in Amarkantak, and runs in the depression between the Satpura and Vindhya ranges, draining the northern slope of the Satpura range, running west towards the Arabian Sea. The Tapti River originates in the eastern-central part of Satpura, crossing the range in the center and running west at the range's southern slopes before meeting the Arabian Sea at Surat, draining the central and southern slopes of the range. Multai, the place of Tapti river origin is located about 465 kilometer far, south-westerly to Amarkantak, separated across by the hill range. The Godavari River and its tributaries drain the Deccan plateau, which lies south of the range, and the Mahanadi River drains the easternmost portion of the range. The Godavari and Mahanadi rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal. At its eastern end, the Satpura range meets the hills of the Chotanagpur Plateau. The Satpura Range is a horst mountain and is flanked by Narmada Graben in the north and much smaller but parallel Tapi Graben in the south.
Chandrapur district is a district in the Nagpur Division in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Chandrapur was the largest district in India until the Gadchiroli and Sironcha tehsils were separated as Gadchiroli district in 1981. In 2011, the district population was 2,204,307.
There are four categories of protected areas in India, constituted under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Tiger reserves consist of areas under national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. There are 53 tiger reserves in India. As of January 2023, the protected areas of India cover 173,629.52 square kilometres (67,038.73 sq mi), roughly 5.28% of the total geographical area of the country.
There are 18 biosphere reserves in India. They protect larger areas of natural habitat than a typical national park or animal sanctuary, and often include one or more national parks or reserves, along with buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna of the protected region, but also to the human communities who inhabit these regions, and their ways of life. In total there are 18 biosphere reserves in India.
Conservation reserves and community reserves in India are terms denoting protected areas of India which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests of India. Such areas are designated as conservation areas if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities, and community areas if part of the lands are privately owned. Administration of such reserves would be through local people and local agencies like the gram panchayat, as in the case of communal forests.
The word Maharashtra, the land of the mainly Marathi-speaking people, appears to be derived from Maharashtri, an old form of Prakrit. Some believe that the word indicates that it was the land of the Mahars and the Rattas, while others consider it to be a corruption of the term 'Maha Kantara', a synonym for 'Dandakaranya'. Maharashtra is the third largest state in India after Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It covers an area of 307,713 km2 and is bordered by the states of Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Telangana to the southeast, Karnataka to the south and Goa to the southwest. The state of Gujarat lies to the northwest, with the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli sandwiched between the borders. Maharashtra has coastline of 720 km.The Arabian Sea makes up Maharashtra's west coast. Maharashtra consists of two major relief divisions. The plateau is a part of the Deccan tableland and the Konkan coastal strip abutting on the Arabian Sea.
Maharashtra attracts tourists from other Indian states and foreign countries. It was the second most visited Indian state by foreigners and fifth most visited state by domestic tourists in the country in 2021. Aurangabad is the tourism capital of Maharashtra.
The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is a wildlife sanctuary in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra state in India. It is Maharashtra's oldest and largest national park. Created in 1955, the reserve includes the Tadoba National Park and the Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary. The reserve consists of 577.96 square kilometres (223.15 sq mi) of reserved forest and 32.51 square kilometres (12.55 sq mi) of protected forest.
Melghat was among the first nine tiger reserves of India to be notified in 1973 under Project Tiger. It is located at 21°26′45″N77°11′50″E in the northern part of Amravati District of Maharashtra. Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as in 1985. The Tapti River flows through the northern part of Melghat Tiger Reserve and forms the boundary of the reserve together with the Gawilghur ridge of the Satpura Range.
The tiger reserves in India were set up as a part of Project Tiger initiated in 1973 and are administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority of Government of India. As of November 2024, there are 56 protected areas that have been designated as tiger reserves. As of 2023, there were 3,682 wild tigers in India, which is almost 75% of the world's wild tiger population.
Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary and a proposed tiger reserve located in the Nuapada district of Odisha, adjoining Chhattisgarh. It has a total area of 600 km2 (230 sq mi). The sanctuary harbours a great diversity of wildlife habitats, with a vast plateau, multiple valleys, gorges and magnificent waterfalls. The sanctuary forms the catchment area of the Jonk River, over which a dam has been constructed to facilitate irrigation. The Indra nullah and Udanti River lies to the south of the sanctuary. The important vegetation of the site comprises dry deciduous tropical forest.
Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger reserve located along the area straddling both the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats in the Erode district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Sathyamangalam Forest Division is part of the Bramhagiri-Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats Elephant Reserve notified in 2003. In 2008, part of the Sathyamangalam Forest Division was declared a wildlife sanctuary, which was further enlarged in 2011 to cover a forest area of 1,411.6 km2 (545.0 sq mi). It is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. In 2013, an area of 1,408.6 km2 (543.9 sq mi) of the erstwhile sanctuary was notified as a tiger reserve and it was the fourth tiger reserve established in the state as a part of Project Tiger.
Bor Tiger Reserve is a wildlife sanctuary which was declared as a tiger reserve in July 2014. It is located near Hingani in Wardha District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a home to a variety of wild animals. The reserve covers an area of 138.12 km2 (53.33 sq mi). which includes the drainage basin of the Bor Dam.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Maharashtra:
Bordharan is a dam in Seloo Tahsil, Wardha District. Formed by the Bor Dam, – and a area of wide spectrum of wildlife, including sambhar, cheetal, barking deer, nilgai, tigers, leopards, and wild dogs. This place has a water reservoir surrounded by hills and beautiful landscape.
Maharashtra Major State Highway 9 also MSH 9 is a Major State Highway that runs south through Nagpur, and Chandrapur districts in the state of Maharashtra. This state highway touches numerous cities and villages VIZ. Nagpur, Umred, Nagbhid, Mul and Chandrapur. Tadoba Andhari Tiger Project and Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary are along with this highway.
Umred-Pauni-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary is a nature reserve in the state of Maharashtra in India. It is bounded roughly by the Wainganga river and the Gose Khurd Dam in the Bhandara and Nagpur districts.
Ghodazari Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife reserve established in 2018 in Nagbhir in the Chandrapur district of the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, India. It includes 159 km2 (61 sq mi) of southern tropical dry forest and a lake. The forest is considered a key region on the connecting corridor for the tiger migration between the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Project and Umred Karhandala Wildlife Sanctuary. It is named after a village of the same name that is almost in the middle of the forest, about 2 km from the dam and the resort. In Marathi, ghoda means horse and zari means a place with a water spring.