Palamu Tiger Reserve

About Palamau Tiger Reserve:

• Location: It is located on the western side of Latehar district on the Chhota nagpur plateau in Jharkhand.
• The reserve forms part of the Betla National Park.
• It is one of the first nine tiger reserves created in the country at the inception of ‘Project Tiger’.
• It is the first reserve in the world in which a tiger census was carried out as a pugmarkcount as early as 1932 under the supervision of J.W. Nicholson.
• It has a total area of 1,014 sq. km. with a core area of 414 sq. km. and a buffer area of 600 sq. km. 
• The terrain is undulating, with valleys, hills, and plains.
• Three rivers, namely North Koyal, Auranga, and Burha, flow through the valleys.
• The geological formation consists of gneiss and includes granite and limestone.
• The reserve is very rich in minerals like Bauxite and Coal.
• Vegetation:
  • It is primarily dominated by the Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous, Sal Forest and its associates.
  • Smaller patches of Northern tropical Moist Deciduous forests exist too in the Reserve.
• Flora: Shorea robusta, Acacia catechu, Madhuca indica, Terminalia tomentosa, Butea monosperma, Pterocarpus marsupium, Anogeisus latifolia, Indigofera pulchela, etc.
• Fauna: The keystone species are Tigers, Elephants, Leopards, Grey Wolf, Gaur, Sloth Bear, Four-horned Antelope, Indian Ratel, Indian Otter, and Indian Pangolin.

Q1: What is the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)?

NTCA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) constituted for strengthening tiger conservation. It was established in 2006 under Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.

Source: Naxal insurgency destroys India’s oldest tiger reserve in Jharkhand