Established 2008 Nearest city Pilibhit Area 730.2 km² | Time zone IST (UTC+5:30) Elevation 172 m | |
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District Pilibhit, Lakhimpur and Bahraich | ||
Tiger roar in pilibhit tiger reserve
Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is located in Pilibhit district, Lakhimpur Kheri District and Bahraich District of Uttar Pradesh state in India. It lies along the India-Nepal border in the foothills of the Himalayas and the plains of the ‘terai’ in Uttar Pradesh. It is one of India's 41 Project Tiger Tiger reserves.
Contents
- Tiger roar in pilibhit tiger reserve
- Leopard sighting in pilibhit tiger reserve
- History
- Geography
- Flora
- Fauna
- References
Pilibhit is one of the few well forested districts in Uttar Pradesh. According to an estimate of year 2004, Pilibhit district has over 800 km2 (310 sq mi) forests, constituting roughly 23% of the district’s total area. Forests in Pilibhit have at least 36 tigers and a good prey base for their survival.
Leopard sighting in pilibhit tiger reserve
History
With Corbett Tiger Reserve going to Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh always wanted to develop the Pilibhit forests area as a home for the striped cats. A proposal, created in 2005, to make a home for the endangered cats in Pilibhit forests was sent to the government of India in April 2008. Pilibhit Tiger Reserve was declared in September 2008 on the basis of its special type of ecosystem with vast open spaces and sufficient feed for the elegant predators.
Geography
The northeastern boundary of the reserve is the River Sharda (Nepali:Mahakali River) which defines the Indo-Nepal border, while the southwest boundary is marked by the River Sharda and the River Ghaghara. The reserve has a core zone area of 602.79 km2 (232.74 sq mi) and buffer zone area of 127.45 km2 (49.21 sq mi). Elevation ranges from 168 to 175 meters above MSL
Flora
This reserve is one of the finest examples of the highly diversified and productive Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands eco-system. The Terai forests and grasslands constitute habitat for over 127 animals, 556 bird species and 2,100 flowering plants. They are also home to around 6 million people who depend on them for their livelihoods.
Fauna
Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is home to a large number of rare and threatened species, which include Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, swamp deer, hispid hare and Bengal floricans.
The Dudhwa tigers are distributed in one major and three smaller populations. Major population is constituted by Dudhwa reserve which includes Dudhwa National Park, Kishenpur and Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuaries, Pilibhit forests and north and south Kheri forests. Smaller tiger populations are present in Bijnor forests in west and Suhelwa and Sohagibarwa wildlife sanctuaries in east.
According to a study by Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the Dudhwa-Pilibhit tiger population has high conservation value since it is the only population having the ecological and behavioural adaptations of the tiger unique to the Tarai region.