RAJAJI NATIONAL PARK

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Context

• Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami released a tigress brought from the forest area of Corbett Tiger Reserve in the Motichur forest area of Rajaji Tiger Reserve.

About Rajaji National Park

• It is an Indian national park and tiger reserve that encompasses the Shivaliks, near the foothills of the Himalayas.
• It is spread over 820 km2 and includes three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal.
• In 1983, three wildlife sanctuaries in the area namely, Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji were merged into one.

Etymology

• Rajaji National Park has been named after C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), a prominent leader of the Freedom Struggle, the second and last Governor-General of independent India and one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (in 1954).

Fauna

• The park is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, including over 300 species of birds, 50 species of mammals, and numerous species of reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
• Some of the more notable animals that can be found in the park include tigers, leopards, elephants, sloth bears, and Indian gaur (a type of bison).
• The park is most renowned for its elephants.

Tiger reserve status

• Final approval was accorded to Kudremukh (Karnataka) and Rajaji (Uttarakhand) for declaring as a tiger reserve on 15 April 2015.
• Rajaji became the second tiger reserve in Uttarakhand.

Flora

• Rajaji National Park of India is nestled between the Shivalik ranges and the Indo-Gangetic plains.
• Broadleaved deciduous forests, riverine vegetation, scrubland, grasslands and pine forests form the range of flora in this park.
• The under-wood is light and often absent.

MUST READ ARTICLES:

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/corbett-national-park

https://theprint.in/india/union-minister-bhupendra-yadav-uttarakhand-cm-dhami-release-tigress-in-rajaji-national-parks-motichur-range/1585060/