Why in the news?

  • The Union Environmental ministry approved translocation of eight tigers from Pench and Tadoba Tiger Reserves to the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve.

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve

  • Location: Situated in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra, in Vidarbha region
  • Features:
    • Oldest and largest national park in Maharashtra.
    • Declared a Project Tiger Reserve in 1993.
    • Andhari River flows through the forest
    • Part of the Central Indian Tiger Landscape
    • Critical corridor for tiger movement linking Maharashtra–Madhya Pradesh–Chhattisgarh forests.
    • Eco-tourism site promoting community livelihood.
  • Flora:
    • Southern tropical dry deciduous forest.
    • Dominated by Teak (Tectona grandis) and bamboo.
  • Fauna:
    • Flagship species: Royal Bengal Tiger
    • Over 200 species of birds including crested serpent eagle, grey-headed fish eagle, paradise flycatcher.
    • Marsh crocodile, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Dhole (wild dog), Gaur, Sambar, Chital, Nilgai.

Pench Tiger Reserve

  • Location: Spread across Madhya Pradesh (Seoni & Chhindwara districts) and Maharashtra (Nagpur district).
  • Features:
    • Lies in the Satpura hill ranges, Central India
    • Named after the Pench River that flows through it.
    • Declared a Tiger Reserve in 1992 under Project Tiger.
    • The setting of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.
    • It forms part of the Central Indian Tiger Landscape.
  • Flora:
    • Southern tropical dry deciduous forest.
    • Dominated by Teak
  • Fauna:
    • Royal Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Wild Dog (Dhole), Sloth Bear, Indian Wolf, Jackal, Hyena, Marsh crocodile, Gaur, Sambar, Chital, Nilgai, Chowsingha, Wild Boar.

Sahyadri Tiger Reserve

  • Location: Spread across Satara, Sangli, and Kolhapur districts of Maharashtra.
  • Features:
    • Only Tiger Reserve in Western Maharashtra.
    • It forms part of the northern Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and global biodiversity hotspot.
    • Formed by merging Chandoli National Park and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary.
    • Declared as a Tiger Reserve in 2009 under Project Tiger.
  • Flora:
    • Dominated by evergreen and moist deciduous forests.
    • Important species: Teak, Ain, Kinjal, Jamun, Hirda, Medicinal plants.
  • Fauna:
    • Royal Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Gaur, Wild Dog (Dhole), Sambar, Barking Deer, Mouse Deer.