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Context

• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has written to the Chief Wildlife Warden of Karnataka to furnish a status report on an illegal resort in Anmod village in the Castle Rock Wildlife Range of the Kali Tiger Reserve (KTR).

NTCA The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established in December 2005, following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganised management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Reserves in India. The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 was amended in 2006 to provide for constituting the National Tiger Conservation Authority responsible for implementation of the Project Tiger plan to protect endangered tigers. The National Tiger Conservation Authority is set up under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Environment and Forests. The Authority will have eight experts or professionals having qualifications and experience in wildlife conservation and welfare of people including tribals, apart from three Members of Parliament of whom two will be elected by the House of the People and one by the Council of States. The Inspector General of Forests, in charge of project Tiger, will be ex-officio Member Secretary. The Tiger Conservation Authority would be required to prepare an Annual Report, which would be laid in the Parliament along with the Audit Report.

What is Castle Rock region?

• It is part of the Dandeli Sanctuary and is part of the larger tiger landscape comprising protected areas like Kali Tiger Reserve, Bhimgad Sanctuary, Mollem National Park, Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary, Mhadei Sanctuary and adjoining reserve forests.
• The area is already under threat from highways and railways.
• The region is also witnessing threat from unregulated tourism, which could be detrimental to the survival of tigers and its habitats.

About Kali Tiger Reserve (formerly Anshi National Park)

• It is a protected area and tiger reserve.
• It is located in Uttara Kannada district, in Karnataka, India.
• The park is a habitat of Bengal tigers, black panthers and Indian elephants, amongst other distinctive fauna.
• The Kali River flows through the tiger reserve and is the lifeline of the ecosystem and hence the name.
• The tiger reserve is spread over an area of 1300 square kilometres.

History

• The forest in the area was declared the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary on 10 May 1956.
• The state proposed carving out a section of the sanctuary to form the Anshi national park, which was implemented on 2 September 1987.
• It was renamed to Kali Tiger Reserve in December 2015.
• The park is home to several hydroelectric dams and a nuclear power station.

Flora

• The park is in the ecoregions of North Western Ghats montane rain forests and North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests, both of which are deemed endangered by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
• The forests have high biodiversity.

Fauna

• The black panther, elephants and tigers live in the park but are rarely seen.
• Interesting birds include the Ceylon frogmouth, great hornbill, Malabar pied hornbill, Malabar grey hornbill, Indian grey hornbill and Asian fairy bluebird.

PRACTICE QUESTION Q) Which of the following statements with reference to Kali Tiger Reserve is/are correct? 1. It is located in Uttara Kannada district, in Karnataka, India. 2. The park is home to several hydroelectric dams and a nuclear power station. 3. It was renamed as Anshi National Park in 2015. 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 1, 2 and 3 Correct Answer: a

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