Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve:
A captive-bred Indian vulture released in Maharashtra’s Melghat in January this year has covered an astonishing 3,334 km, soaring across states before reaching the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.
- Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve is located in the Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan.
- It derives its name from the Ranthambore Fort (a World Heritage Site) situated within its precincts.
- It is located at the junction (great boundary fault) of the Aravalis and Vindhyan ranges.
- The area was once a royal hunting ground for the Maharajas of Jaipur.
- It is one of the largest tiger reserves in northern India.
- It boasts a spectacular landscape filled with boulder-strewn highland plateaus, lakes, and rivers dotted with old forts and abandoned mosques.
- It is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River.
- There are several lakes in the park known as Padam Talab, Raj Bagh Talab, and Malik Talab.
- It is dry deciduous forests and open grassy meadow.
- Pure sands of Dhok tree (Anogeissus pendula) interspersed with grasslands at the plateaus, and other species like Acacia, Capparis, Zizyphus, Prosopis, etc are found here.
- It consists of leopard, caracal, jungle cat, sambar, chital, chinkara, and wild boar.
- Peacocks, partridges, green pigeons, parakeets, sparrows, prinias, warblers, etc. are examples of avifauna.
