Uttarakhand in talks to bring in white tigers from Madhya Pradesh

Uttarakhand in talks to bring in white tigers from Madhya Pradesh

Subject : Environment

Context : Uttarakhand is in talks with the Madhya Pradesh government to bring white tigers to Nainital’s Sitabani Wildlife Reserve for a forthcoming tiger safari project.

Concept :

• According to officials, if a few white tiger cubs from Madhya Pradesh could be made available for Uttarakhand, it will give a new dimension to wildlife tourism at Sitabani and to the tiger safari project.
• Tourism Department officials are directed to chalk out a plan to promote tourism for the new tiger safari park.
• To make it more attractive and exciting for the tourists, white tiger are requested from MP to the safari park.
• The project is likely to be completed by November 2021 and will cost the state Rs 150 crore.

White Tigers

• The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Bengal tigers, Siberian Tiger and man-made hybrids between the two
• They are reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha in the Sundarbans region and especially in the former State of Rewa.
• Such a tiger has the black stripes typical of the Bengal tiger, but carries a white or near-white coat.
• The first white tiger was spotted in Madhya Pradesh’s Vindhya region, in which the Satna district falls, in 1915. The rare breed of the big cat, which was caught for the first time, died in 1920.

Sitabani Wildlife Reserve

• Sitabani Wildlife Reserve falls in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand and has geographical and ecological characteristics of the Sub-Himalayan belt.
• It comprises an entire hill of the Kumaon Himalayas and is flanked on three sides with dense Sal forest connecting it to the famous Jim Corbett National Park.
• To the north, it is connected to the Oak and Rhododendron Himalayan mountain forests of Nainital forest division and the western boundary is etched by a sub-tributary of the Kosi river.
• Broadleaved deciduous forest, riverine vegetation, scrubland, grassland along with gorges and ravines form a varied topography inhabited by rare wildlife.