​Pilibhit Wildlife Sanctuary In UP Is Now Home To Big Cats

In a move that will bolster tiger conservation in the country, the Pilibhit Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh has officially become a tiger reserve. This will be the state’s third and the country's 45th tiger reserve.

According to Pratibha Singh, the state’s principal secretary (forest and wildlife), the government has notified the sanctuary as a tiger reserve, which is already home to 30 of the state’s 118 big cats as per 2011 central data.

The Pilibhit forest division is spread over 73,024.98 hectares and shelters many other endangered species. The core area of the tiger project will comprise 6,279.8 hectares, while the buffer zone – the Khutar range in Shahjahanpur – will span 12,745.2 hectares. The Pilibhit reserve lies along the India-Nepal border, in the foothills of the Himalayas and the plains of the ‘terai’ in Uttar Pradesh.

The process of according the tiger reserve status to the cluster of fragmented forests in Pilibhit was initiated in 2008, based on its special type of ecosystem that has vast open spaces and sufficient feed for the elegant predators.

Government officials said the move shows the state's commitment to strengthen conservation efforts in spite of UP's large population. Dudhwa was the state's first tiger reserve that came into existence in 1987, followed by Amangarh Tiger Reserve in 2012.