India’s 56th Tiger Reserve Notified In Chhattisgarh; Check Details

New Delhi: India has got its 56th Tiger Reserve.

Located in Chhattisgarh’s Ramkola, the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve, is spread over 2,829 sq km.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Bhupender Yadav made the announcement in a post on X.

“As India continues to touch new milestones in tiger conservation, we have notified Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla in Chhattisgarh as the 56th tiger reserve,” Yadav stated.

On the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)’s advice, the Chhattisgarh government set up the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve across Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Korea, Surajpur and Balrampur districts of Chhattisgarh.

It’s the third tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh, after Indravati, Udanti-Sitanadi and Achanakmar.

Neighbouring state Odisha has two notified tiger reserves – Simlipal and Satkosia.

The newest tiger reserve is the third-largest in India, after Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh and Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam.

Spread over a total area of 2829.38 sq km, Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve includes a core/critical tiger habitat of 2049.2 sq km, comprising Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary, and has a buffer of 780.15 sq km.

The new tiger reserve is connected to Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh to its west and Palamau Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand to its east.

Nestled in the Chotanagpur plateau and partly in Baghelkhand plateau, the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve has varied terrains, dense forests, streams and rivers which are critical for tiger habitats.

The Zoological Survey of India has documented a total of 753 species, including 365 invertebrates and 388 vertebrates, in Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve by.

The vertebrate fauna includes 230 species of birds and 55 species of mammals comprising several threatened species.