Bihar to get second tiger reserve in Kaimur district

Subject :Environment

Section: Protected areas

Source: TH

Context:

Bihar is set to get its second tiger reserve in Kaimur district- Kaimur wildlife sanctuary.
Earlier Dholpur-Karauli TR of Rajasthan became the 54rd tiger reserve of the country.

Details:

The Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in West Champaran district, is currently the 1st and only tiger reserve of the state.
A report of the NTCA said that the tiger population in the Valmiki reserve has increased from 31 in 2018 to 54.
The total tiger count in the State currently is 54.
There is a need for the second tiger reserve in the state as Valmiki TR has reached its saturation point of 50 tigers.

Kaimur Wildlife sanctuary:

The Kaimur district is divided into two parts:
- hilly area which is also known as Kaimur plateau and
- The plain area on the western side which is flanked by the rivers Karmnasa and Durgavati.
The district has a large forest cover and is home to tigers, leopards and chinkaras.
The forests of Kaimur span 1,134 sq km area including 986 sq km of the Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary.
At 34%, Kaimur also has the highest green cover in Bihar and the Kaimur forests are the biggest in the State in terms of area.
The district shares its boundary with neighboring States of Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in Kaimur District and Rohtas District of Bihar. It is the largest sanctuary in the state.
Vegetation: Tropical Dry Mixed Deciduous, Dry Sal Forests, Boswellia Forests and Dry Bamboo Brakes.
There are several waterfalls of which the finest are Karkat Waterfall, Manjhar Kund, Dhua Kund.