Jharkhand Has Proposed Its First-Ever Tiger Safari

Source:  IE

Context: Jharkhand has proposed its first-ever tiger safari in the fringe area of Palamau Tiger Reserve (PTR), aimed at boosting tourism and wildlife education.

About Jharkhand Has Proposed Its First-Ever Tiger Safari:

• What is a Tiger Safari?

• • A tiger safari is a tourism model involving naturalistic enclosures to house tigers — mainly rescued, conflict-prone, or orphaned — allowing guaranteed sightings unlike traditional wild safaris.
  • First proposed in NTCA Guidelines 2012, further refined in 2016 and later by Supreme Court directives in 2024.

• Legal Framework Governing Safaris:

• • Governed by:
    • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
    • NTCA Guidelines (2012, 2016)
    • CZA (Central Zoo Authority) for design, welfare, and compliance
  • As per SC order (March 2024): Safaris must be outside core and buffer zones of tiger reserves.

• Types of Tigers Safaris:

• • Captive Safari: Houses rescued or zoo-bred tigers in controlled naturalistic settings.
  • Wild Safari: Traditional open-reserve model like in Ranthambore or Jim Corbett, with no guaranteed sightings.

About Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR):

• Palamu Tiger Reserve is one of the original nine Project Tiger reserves in India, and the only tiger reserve in Jharkhand, notified in 1974.

• Location: Latehar district, on the Chhotanagpur Plateau, Jharkhand.
• Rivers: Drained by North Koel, Burha, and Auranga rivers (Burha is perennial).

• Flora:

• • Predominantly Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous forests.
  • Dominant species: Sal (Shorea robusta).

• Fauna:

• • Flagship species: Bengal Tiger.
  • Other key fauna: Asiatic Elephant, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Grey Wolf, Indian Pangolin, Otter, Four-horned Antelope.

• Historical Significance:

• • Declared under Project Tiger in 1974.
  • Site of the world’s first pugmark-based tiger census (1932), led by J.W. Nicholson.