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Threats And Conservation Issues: image

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{{Infobox protected area
| name = Ratapani Tiger Reserve
| alt_name = Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary
| iucn_category =
| photo = way to jungle, Ratapani.jpg
| photo_alt =
| photo_caption = The road that goes through Ratapani
| photo_width =
| map = India Madhya Pradesh
| map_alt = Ratapani tiger reserve (location within Madhya Pradesh)
| map_caption = Ratapani tiger reserve (location within Madhya Pradesh)
| map_width =
| label = Ratapani Tiger Reserve
| mark = Green pog.svg
| location = [[Raisen district]] in [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[India]]
| nearest_city =
| coordinates = {{coords|22.918|77.722|region:IN|notes=|display=inline, title}}
| coords_ref = <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.protectedplanet.net/1855 |title= Kheoni |work=protectedplanet.net}}</ref>
| area = {{Convert|824|km2|abbr=on}}
| established = 1976
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = Forest Department, Madhya Pradesh
| url =
}}

[[File:junge-outside, Bhimbetka.jpg|thumbnail|A view of the sanctuary]]

The '''Ratapani Tiger Reserve''', located in the [[Raisen district]] of [[Madhya Pradesh]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ratapanirangeretreat.com/aboutus.htm |title=About Ratapani (Archived copy) |accessdate=2014-10-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006102644/http://ratapanirangeretreat.com/aboutus.htm |archivedate=2014-10-06 }}</ref> in [[Vindhya Range]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mptourism.com/web/experience/wildlife/sanctuaries/ratapani.aspx |title=Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary -MP Tourism (Archived copy) |accessdate=2014-10-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214131310/http://www.mptourism.com/web/experience/wildlife/sanctuaries/ratapani.aspx |archivedate=2014-02-14 }}</ref> in central [[India]], is one of the finest teak forests in the state and is less than {{convert|50|km}} away from the capital [[Bhopal]].

It has been a wildlife sanctuary since 1976. {{As of|2013|03}}, in-principle approval by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has been granted for upgrading it to a status of [[tiger reserve]]. It will become a tiger reserve by the notification of the Government of Madhya Pradesh.<ref>http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=92889</ref> Its close proximity to the capital and its relatively untouched forests makes it a promising attraction for tourists and the Madhya Pradesh tourism board plans to make it a wildlife destination in the near future. The reserve is rich in flora and fauna and a wide variety of [[bird]]s and [[mammal]]s call it their home. 

The total forest area is around {{convert|824|km2}} and the landscape is undulating, with hills, plateaus, valleys and plains. A number of seasonal streams irrigate the site in the monsoon, and water is retained in some pools along these streams even in the summer. Two large reservoirs, namely Barna Reservoir and Ratapani Dam (Barrusot lake) are among the major waterbodies adjacent to or inside the sanctuary. The forest of Ratapani is dry deciduous and moist deciduous type, with teak (''[[Tectona grandis]]'') as the main tree species. About 55% of the area is covered by teak. The remaining mixed forests consist of various dry deciduous species. Bamboo (''[[Dendrocalamus strictus]]'') overlaps the two aforementioned forest types and covers about one quarter of the forest area. [[Bhimbetka rock shelters]], are located within this tiger reserve. These [[rock shelter]]s were inhabited by man hundreds of thousand years ago and some of the [[rock painting]]s of the [[Stone Age]] are more than 30,000 years old. It has been declared a World Heritage Site by [[UNESCO]]. The tourist places include [[Bhimbetka]], Delawari, Ginnorhgarh Fort, Ratapani Dam, KairiMahadeo and Kherbana Mandir.

==Tiger reserve status==
As per the government, in-principle approval has been accorded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority for creation of two new tiger reserves, and the sites are: Ratapani (Madhya Pradesh) and Sunabeda (Odisha). Final approval has been accorded to Kudremukh (Karnataka) and Rajaji (Uttarakhand) for declaring as a tiger reserve. The state governments have been advised to send proposals for declaring the following areas as tiger reserves: (i) Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary (Uttar Pradesh), (ii) Guru Ghasidas National Park (Chhattisgarh), (iii) Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary (Goa), (iv) Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant Squirrel / Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuaries / Varushanadu Valley (Tamil Nadu) and (v) Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary (Arunachal Pradesh).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://projecttiger.nic.in/content/37_1_MilestoneInitiatives.aspx |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530151640/http://projecttiger.nic.in/content/37_1_MilestoneInitiatives.aspx |archive-date=2015-05-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Wildlife==
A large variety of wildlife is found in the wildlife sanctuary. Some precipitous hills have cliffs; have large rock blocks and talus at the base. This unique feature provides shelter to various animals like vultures, reptiles and small mammals.

Carnivores in the sanctuary include the [[Bengal tiger|tiger]], [[Indian leopard|leopard]], [[dhole]], [[striped hyena|hyena]], jackal and fox, and the herbivores include [[chital]], [[Sambar deer|sambar]], [[nilgai]], [[four-horned antelope]], langur and wild boar, and primates: [[langur]] and [[rhesus macaque]]. The omnivorous [[sloth bear]] is also seen often. Smaller animals, like squirrels, mongooses, gerbils, porcupines, hares, etc. are of common occurrence. Among reptiles, important species include different kinds of lizards, chameleon, snakes, etc. Among snakes, cobra, python, viper, krait, etc. are common. More than 150 species of birds are seen here. A few to mention are the common babbler, crimson-breasted barbet, bulbul, bee-eater, baya, cuckoo, kingfisher, kite, lark, Bengal vulture, sunbird, white wagtail, crow pheasant, jungle crow, egrets, myna, jungle fowl, parakeets, partridges, hoopoe, quails, woodpeckers, blue jay, dove, black drongo, flycatcher, flower pecker and rock pigeon.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

In February 2019, a tiger found in the area of [[Lunavada]] in [[Mahisagar district]] of [[Gujarat]] State,<ref name="HT 02-2019">{{cite news |publisher=The [[Hindustan Times]] |title=Like humans, animals too have a right to migrate |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/like-humans-animals-too-have-a-right-to-migrate/story-61db8VDgKftuIkBtPNO6eL.html |date=2019-02-18 |access-date=2019-03-17}}</ref><ref name="DTE 02-2019">{{cite news |last=Ghai |first=Rajat |title=Camera trap proves Gujarat now has tiger |publisher=[[Down To Earth (magazine)|Down To Earth]] |url=https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/camera-trap-proves-gujarat-now-has-tiger-63216 |date=2019-02-12 |access-date=2019-03-17}}</ref> before being spotted dead,<ref name="TOI 03-2019">{{cite news |last=Kaushik |first=Himashu |title=Tiger that trekked from MP to Gujarat died of starvation: Post-mortem report |work=The [[Times of India]] |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68327799.cms |date=2019-03-09 |access-date=2019-03-17}}</ref> was said to have come from this sanctuary.

===Avifauna===
The Ratapani WLS is rich in the typical wildlife of central India. Not much work has been done on the birds of Ratapani, although
frequent visits by birdwatchers to the site provide baseline information on the species seen in and around the site. More than 150 species of birds are reported from Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary(K. Sharma pers. comm. 2003).

[[Oriental white-backed vulture]] (''Gyps bengalensis''), [[long-billed vulture]] (''Gyps indicus'') and [[red-headed vulture]] (''Sarcogyps calvus'') are often found perched on a cluster of trees or soaring at great heights in search of food (K. Sharma pers. comm. 2002). The Ratapani dam at the periphery of the sanctuary invites thousands of migratory birds in winter. There are many smaller reservoirs dotted all over the sanctuary. The total waterfowl populations in all these smaller reservoirs and Ratapani reservoir would easily exceed 20,000 (A4iii criteria). Moreover, these waterbodies also attract large wading birds such as the [[sarus crane]] (''Grus antigone''), [[painted stork]] (''Mycteria leucocephala''), black-necked stork (''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus'') and [[white-necked stork]] (''Ciconia episcopus'') (K. Sharma pers. comm. 2002). The rich diversity in terrestrial species throughout the sanctuary calls for a proper bird survey of the area.

Ratapani retains some of the finest representative forest cover of the Indo-Malayan Tropical Dry Zone (Biome-11). Of the 59 bird
species identified by BirdLife International (undated) in this biome, 33 are found in Ratapani, further proving the importance of this site for the protection of biome species. Detailed studies could reveal more bird species.<ref>http://ibcn.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/28-657_690-Madhya-Pradesh.pdf{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Threats And Conservation Issues==
* Poaching
* Encroachment and forest fires
* Illicit felling
* Livestock grazing
* Man-animal conflict
[[File:Ratapani wildlife sanctuary road sign board (1).jpg|thumb|Ratapani wildlife sanctuary road sign board]]
This large sanctuary faces pressures from all directions. Illicit felling, grazing by cattle, poaching and encroachment are the major concerns for the management. Presence of 26 villages inside the sanctuary and another 109 villages around it exert the associated anthropogenic pressures. These villages are dependent for their day-to-day needs on the biomass resources of the sanctuary. Forest fires, natural and man-made, are a major problem in summer. The long, narrow area of Ratapani WLS(about 70 km long and about 15 km wide) makes it more vulnerable to intensive biotic pressure in most of its areas.<ref>http://ibcn.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/28-657_690-Madhya-Pradesh.pdf{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Ratapani Tiger Reserve}}

{{Tiger Reserves Of India}}

[[Category:Tiger reserves of India]]
[[Category:Wildlife sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Raisen district]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1976]]
[[Category:1976 establishments in Madhya Pradesh]]

Ratapani Tiger Reserve - Revision history

imported>Suyash.dwivedi: /* Threats And Conservation Issues */ image