Uttar Pradesh’s fourth tiger reserve

• The fourth tiger reserve has been notified by the Uttar Pradesh Government.

• The state cabinet has approved the notification of Uttar Pradesh’s fourth tiger reserve in the Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS) in Chitrakoot district under the Wild life (Protection) Act of 1972.

• While this wildlife sanctuary does not host tigers of its own, it is often frequented by tigers from the neighbouring Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

• Panna Tiger Reserve and the RWS are situated close to each other and the latter is an important corridor for the movement of tigers.

• A 2018 survey by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) revealed that Ranipur hosts three tigers.

• The Ranipur Tiger Reserve will span across 529.89 square kilometres, with 299.58 sq km as buffer zone and the rest is the core area, which was already notified as the RWS in 1977.