Why in news?
- Uttarakhand Government has formed a Special Tiger Force for Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR).
More information
- The Project Tiger was first launched in 1973 from the Dhikala zone of Corbett National Park (During its inception, the name of the park was Hailey National Park).
- Together with Sonanadi wildlife sanctuary, Corbett National Park forms Corbett Tiger Reserve spreading over three districts of Uttarakhand i.e. Pauri, Nainital and Almora.
- Corbett tiger reserve is located in Ramnagar in Nainital district.
- Ramganga, Sonanadi, Mandal, Palain and Kosi are the major rivers flowing through the Jim Corbett National Park.
- The reserve, situated factually along a valley between the minor Himalaya in the north and the Siwaliks in the south, has a sub-Himalayan belt shape.
About Special Tiger Force (STPF):
- It will be effective in checking illegal human intrusion into the reserve through villages located on its fringes and serve as a second layer of protection for tigers at the CTR.
Three-tier protection to tigers at reserves:
- 1st layer of protection: It is provided in the inner range by beat level forest guards through regular patrols.
- 2nd layer of protection: It is provided by STPF.
- 3rd layer of protection: It comes from intelligence-gathering mechanisms in which forest, police and central intelligence agency personnel work together to prevent crimes like poaching of tigers. (Uttarakhand’s Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary is set to get a ‘Tiger Cell’ after the Corbett Tiger Reserve)