Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR)

About Valmiki Tiger Reserve:

• Location: It is located at the India-Nepal border in the northern part of the West Champaran district of Bihar. 
• Spread over an area of about 880 sq. km, it is the only tiger reserve in Bihar.
• It comprises the Valmiki National Park and the Valmiki Wild Sanctuary.
• It forms the easternmost limit of the Himalayan Terai forests in India.
• Situated in the Gangetic Plains bio-geographic zone of the country, the forest has a combination of Bhabar and Terai tracts.
• It is surrounded by the Royal Chitwan National Park of Nepal in the north and the river Gandak on the western side, with the Himalayan mountains as a backdrop.
• Drainage: Rivers Gandak, Pandai, Manor, Harha, Masan, and Bhapsa flow through various parts of the reserve.
• Vegetation: The vegetation types include mainly Moist mixed deciduous, Open-land vegetation, Sub-mountainous semi-evergreen formation, Freshwater swamps, Riparian fringes, Alluvial grasslands, high-hill savannah, and Wetlands
• Flora: Sal, rohini, sihor, teak, bamboo, semal, Mandar, shisham, Jamun, Gular, etc.
• Fauna: Tiger, leopard, fishing cat, leopard cat, sambar, hog deer, spotted deer, black buck, gaur, sloth bear, langur, rhesus monkey, etc.

Q1: What is Terai?

Terai, or Tarai, is a lowland belt of flat, alluvial land stretching along the Nepal-India border and running parallel to the lower ranges of the Himalayas. A strip of undulating former marshland, it stretches from the Yamuna River in the west to the Brahmaputra River in the east. It is the northern extension of the Gangetic Plain in India, commencing at about 300 meters above sea level and rising to about 1,000 meters at the foot of the Siwalik Range.

Source: Bihar: Leopard Found Dead in Valmiki Tiger Reserve in West Champaran District