First tiger translocation occurred in Uttarakhand

Source: The Indian Express

News: Rajaji Tiger Reserve is set to welcome the first tiger from Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve in the first such relocation in Uttarakhand aimed at tiger population management.

Facts:

Why translocations of tigers needed?

• The western portion of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, which occupies more than 60% of the total reserve area has only two tigresses presumed to be unfit for reproduction as they are above 18 years.
• Despite Rajaji having 37 tigers, the eastern part cannot boost numbers in the western portion as the two are divided by a traffic corridor which makes it difficult for the big cats to migrate.
• Hence, with this relocation, a rise in tiger numbers can be expected in the western part next year.

Additional Facts:

• Jim Corbett National Park: It was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park- the first national park in India.It is located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand. The Corbett national park has highest tiger count from single reserve in the recent Tiger census(carried once in 4 years)
  • The park was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1973- the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative.
  • The tiger reserve is situated in the Shivalik hills of Himalayas while administratively it spreads over Pauri Garhwal, Nainital and Almora districts of Uttarakhand State in India.
• Rajaji National Park: It is a national park and tiger reserve that encompasses the Shivaliks, near the foothills of the Himalayas.
  • It was declared as a tiger reserve in 2015 and is the second tiger reserve in the Uttarakhand and 48th Tiger Reserve of India.
  • The park extends over the Shivalik Range in the north-west to the Rawasan River in the southeast with the Ganges dividing it into two parts.
  • Some of the basic features of the Shivalik formations are to be seen in the park and is rightly known as a veritable storehouse of Shivalik biodiversity and ecosystems.
  • The western part of the Park consists of the Ramgarh, Kansrao, Motichur, Hardwar, Dholkhand and Chillawali Ranges.
• Project Tiger: It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Government of India launched in 1973 for in-situ conservation of wild tigers in designated tiger reserves.
• Madhya Pradesh (526) has maximum tigers in our country followed by Karnataka (524) and Uttarakhand (442).
• Global Tiger Forum(GTF): It is the only inter-governmental international body established in 1993 with members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the Tiger. It is located in New Delhi, India.
• Global Tiger Initiative(GTI): It was launched in 2008 as a global alliance of governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector with the aim of working together to save wild tigers from extinction. In 2013, the scope was broadened to include Snow Leopards.