Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR)

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About Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR)

Location:
- It is located in the Amaravati district of Maharashtra.
- It is located on the southern offshoot of the Satpura Hill Range in Central India, called Gavilgarh Hill.
It was established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1967 and was declared a tiger reserve in 1974.
It was the first tiger reserve in Maharashtra.
It was among the first nine tiger reserves notified in 1973-74 under Project Tiger.
The name ‘Melghat’ means the confluence of various ‘ghats’ or valleys, as is typical from the landscape of this tiger Reserve.
Vegetation: The forest is tropical dry deciduous in nature, dominated by teak.
Rivers: The reserve is a catchment area for five major rivers: the Khandu, Khapra, Sipna, Gadga, and Dolar, all of which are tributaries of the river Tapti.
The Tapti River and the Gawilgadh ridge of the Satpura Range form the boundaries of the reserve.
Tribes: The Korkus are the largest tribal community in Melghat. Other communities include the Gawli community, the Gond tribe, and several other smaller tribal communities.
Flora: Some of the common species are teak, Lagerstroemia Parviflora, Terminalia Tomentosa, Ougeinia Oojeinensis, Emblica Officinalis, Bamboo, etc.
Fauna:
- Apart from Tigers the other prominent animals are Sloth Bear, Indian Gaur, Sambar deer, Leopard, Nilgais, dhole, hyena, jungle cat, langur, etc.
- It is considered a stronghold of the critically endangered forest owlet.

Q1) What is a Tiger Reserve?

Tiger Reserve is a legally declared protected area dedicated to the conservation of striped big cats in its natural environment. A tiger reserve could be a national park or wildlife sanctuary. The Sariska Tiger Reserve, for example, is also a national park.

Source: Forest department’s sporting gesture aims at saving tigers and preventing forest fires