Rajasthan’s Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary has now been marked as India’s 52nd tiger reserve. Bhupender Yadav, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change shared the news on Twitter on May 16, 2022. Besides this, the state has three other tiger reserves of India – Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra.
The reserve is planned to eventually be spread across an area of 1,501.89 sq km. On July 5, 2021, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had already approved making Ramgarh one of the tiger reserves of Rajasthan. Demarcating the Ramgarh region as a tiger reserve was observed as a ‘critical’ move by wildlife experts and conservationists.
In an interview with Down to Earth, Yadavendradev Jhala, dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, said,” The population in this area will probably never be very high because it is a small area. But since it is an important area for tiger connectivity, the conservation efforts and funding that will be deployed there now will benefit the population of the big cats.” According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, in 2019, there were approximately 2,967 tigers in India.
As a research site, Ramgarh has a lot of untapped potential. It is also famous and significant for its cultural and historical sites such as Bhimlat and Ramgarh Palace. The palace, for instance, encourages eco-tourism and offers employment opportunities to people.
Ramgarh’s Vishdhari is located in the Bundi district and is also situated in parts of Bhilwara and Kota districts. The site offers insights into the life cycles of other wild animals like the Indian wolf, leopard, striped hyena, sloth bear, golden jackal, fox and others.
