Rajaji Tiger Reserve:
The Uttarakhand government recently decided to establish Rajaji Tiger Reserve Conservation Foundation to accelerate the ecological, economic, social, and cultural development of the landscapes in and around the reserve.
- Rajaji Tiger Reserve (earlier Rajaji National Park) is located in the Shivalik range of the Himalayas and spread over 820 kms.
- It covers a part of over three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun, and Pauri Garhwal.
- It was named after the famous freedom fighter Rajgopalachari, popularly known as “Rajaji”.
- The park was created in 1983 by the amalgamation of three sanctuaries:
- Rajaji Sanctuary and National park (estd. 1948),
- Motichur Sanctuary (estd. 1964), and
- Chilla sanctuary (estd. 1977).
- On 20 April 2015, its name was changed to Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
- It is famous as an elephant habitat, as there are around 600 elephants in Rajaji.
- It’s location in a transition zone between temperate western Himalaya and central Himalaya enhances the species diversity
- The area is covered with diverse forest types ranging from semi-evergreen to deciduous and from mixed broad-leaved to Terai grassland and has been classified as Indus-Ganges Monsoon Forest type.
