Madhya Pradesh gets its first elephant colony

News:Recently,Madhya Pradesh has got its first elephant colony in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.

Facts:

About Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve:

• Bandhavgarh National Park is located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh.It was declared a national park in 1968 and then became Tiger Reserve in 1993.
• The park resides on the extreme north eastern border of Madhya Pradesh and the northern edges of the Satpura mountain ranges.
• The park derives its name from the most prominent hillock of the area, which was said to be given by Hindu Lord Rama to his brother Lakshmana to keep a watch on Lanka.
• The park is also mentioned in the ancient books of the ‘Narad Pancharatra’ and the ‘Shiv Purana’ that this place is being associated with Ramayana. 
• There are a large number of tigers in the core zone of the Park.There are more than 22 species of mammals and 250 species of birds.

Additional information:

• According to 2017 Elephant Census,India is home to 50% of the Asian Elephant population.
• The Asian Elephant has been given the highest level of protection in India by its inclusion in Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. 
• They are also included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Note:According to All India Tiger Estimation Report– 2018, Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tigers (526) followed by Karnataka (524) and Uttarakhand (442).