Taking a major step towards conservation, the Uttar Pradesh Government yesterday gave a go-head for the first tiger reserve in Bundelkhand region of the State.

In a Cabinet meeting which was chaired by the State Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath it was decided to notify Ranipur Tiger Reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 making it the fourth tiger reserve. The other three are Dudhwa, Pilibhit and Amangarh.

Situated in Chitrakoot district of the State, RTR is about 150 kilometres from Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh along the UP-MP border. It will be spread across 52,989.863 hectare of land which includes 29,958.863 hectare of buffer area and 23,031.00 hectare of core area — already notified as Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary.

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The Reserve has northern tropical dry deciduous forests and its fauna includes tiger, leopard, bear, spotted deer, sambhar, chinkara, reptiles and other mammals.

A statement issued by the State Government also informed that a decision has been taken to establish Ranipur Tiger Conservation Foundation.

While RTR does not have any resident tigers a fleeting population of the felines from Panna keeps coming and going out of the reserve and some of them may have made these forests their permanent home. It may be recalled that CM had in a meeting of UP State Wildlife Board in June had said that the Ken-Betwa linking may cause water submergence in Panna Tiger Reserve which may lead some of the tigers to seek refuge in Ranipur.

RTR is expected to give a boost to conservation and also eco-tourism in the region.

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