Pilibhit Tiger Reserve

With Jim Corbett National Park going to Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh always wanted to develop the Pilibhit forests area as a home for the big cat. A proposal, created in 2005, to make a home for the endangered cats in Pilibhit forests was sent to the government of India in April 2008. Pilibhit Tiger Reserve was declared as the 46th Tiger reserve of India in June 2014 on the basis of its special type of ecosystem with vast open spaces and sufficient feed for the elegant predators. [3] [4]

The northeastern boundary of the reserve is the River Sharda (Nepali:Mahakali River) which defines the Indo-Nepal border, while the southwest boundary is marked by the River Sharda and the River Ghaghara. The reserve has a core zone area of 602.79 km² (232.74 sq mi) and buffer zone area of 127.45 km² (49.21 sq mi). Elevation ranges from 168 to 175 meters above MSL[5]

This reserve is one of the finest examples of the highly diversified and productive Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands eco-system. The forest vegetation is of the North Indian moist deciduous type, having the finest sal Shorea robusta forests of the country. The Terai forests and grasslands constitute habitat for over 127 animals, 556 bird species and 2,100 flowering plants. The sal woodland is very dense with good natural regeneration, amounting to almost 76% of the reserve area. The forest patches are interspersed with grass meadows with several like Saccharum, Sclerostachya, Imperata, Themeda, Bothriochloa, Vetiveria, Apluda, Dichanthium, Digitaria and Cyperus. The grasslands are subjected to seasonal flooding water l Broadly, such waterlogged grasslands and water bodies constitute the wetland of the habitat. They are also home to around 6 million people who depend on them for their livelihoods.

The habitat has rich faunal diversity, having 5 out of 7 deer species found in the country. Besides, there are some critically endangered species such as the Bengal florican and his As many as 13 species of mammals, 9 species of birds and 11 species of reptiles/amphibians found in the reserve are endangered and listed in the Schedule I of the Wildlife (Prot Act, 1972. The major faunal species are Royal Bengal Tiger, leopard, fishing cat, leopard cat, swamp deer, spotted deer, hog deer, barking deer, blackbuck, sambar, sloth bear, fox, short-nosed fruit bat, Indian common yellow bat, painted bat, rhesus macaque, common langur, porcupine, small Indian civet, jackal, Indian fox, hyena, rattle. As many as 450 birds have been observed which includes a large number of residents. The common resident birds include darter, lesser whistling duck, combed duck, grey partridge, black partridge swamp partridge, peafowl, red jungle fowl, cormorants, egrets, herons, 3 species of hornbill, 6 species of eagle, Saras crane and several others. Reptiles are well represented with lizards, several species of snakes, freshwater crocodile and Gharial. The river system harbor around 79 species of fishes.

Though the main focus is the protection and in-situ of wildlife, the reserve management has also encouraged low impact eco-tourism. Park management has developed a Chuka Ecotourism site on the bank of Sharda Sagar dam which is located inside the park.

The Dudhwa tigers are distributed in one major and three smaller populations. Major population is constituted by Dudhwa reserve which includes Dudhwa National Park, Kishenpur and Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuaries, Pilibhit forests and north and south Kheri forests. Smaller tiger populations are present in Bijnor forests in west and Suhelwa and Sohagibarwa wildlife sanctuaries in east.

According to a study by Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the Dudhwa-Pilibhit tiger population has high conservation value since it is the only population having the ecological and behavioral adaptations of the tiger unique to the Terai region.[6]

Pilibhit tiger reserve is an important habitat for tiger owing to its connection with several tiger habitats within the State and outside. The important linkages are:

1. Surahi range- Terai East Division Uttarkhand
2. Lagga-Bagga - Shuklaphanta National Park (Nepal)
3. Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary – Dudhwa

The corridor linkages are used by the tiger and other wild animals and require monitoring and restoration by fostering a co-occurrence agenda with local people.

• Official website