Rajasthan Test 23

Rajasthan's wildlife heritage is as spectacular and diverse as its cultural legacy, encompassing a range of ecosystems from the Thar Desert in the west to the Aravalli forests in the east and the semi-arid Chambal ravines in the southeast. The state hosts several nationally important wildlife reserves and tiger reserves that attract wildlife enthusiasts and nature tourists from across India and internationally. Ranthambore National Park, situated in the Sawai Madhopur district, is undoubtedly the most famous wildlife destination in Rajasthan and one of the premier tiger reserves in India. Spread across approximately four hundred square kilometres of dry deciduous forest and rocky terrain punctuated by ancient ruins of the Ranthambore fort and beautiful lakes, the park provides ideal conditions for wildlife viewing. The tigers of Ranthambore have become legendary among wildlife photographers and tourists for their relative boldness and ease of observation compared to tigers in more densely vegetated habitats. The park has been at the centre of India's tiger conservation success story, with its tiger population growing from critically low numbers in the early years of Project Tiger to a robust population that has provided animals for re-establishment of tigers at other locations. The striking backdrop of the tenth century Ranthambore fort, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan group, against which tigers are frequently photographed, gives the park a unique aesthetic quality that no other tiger habitat in India can match. The fort has stood witness to thousands of years of history and was a Rajput stronghold that fell to Alauddin Khilji in the fourteenth century. The wildlife in Ranthambore extends well beyond tigers to include leopards, sloth bears, sambar, nilgai, chital, wild boar, marsh crocodiles in the lakes, and an extraordinary diversity of birds. Sariska Tiger Reserve in the Alwar district has had a more troubled history, with its tiger population having been completely wiped out by poaching in the early 2000s, a tragedy that led to a major national inquiry and reforms in tiger protection. Tigers were subsequently reintroduced from Ranthambore, and the population has been slowly rebuilding. Sariska's proximity to Delhi makes it an important destination for tiger tourism from the national capital region. The reserve is also notable for the historic Sariska Palace, now a luxury hotel, and several ancient temples within the reserve area including the Neelkanth Mahadev temple complex. Keoladeo Ghana National Park, also known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, is perhaps the most important bird habitat in the Indian subcontinent and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Originally created as a private hunting reserve for the Bharatpur royal family and later for the British viceroys, the park is an artificial wetland created by bunding of a low-lying area, and receives its water from the Ajan Bund reservoir. The park hosts extraordinary concentrations of resident and migratory birds, with over three hundred and sixty species recorded. The park's water management, which has been a source of recurring conflict with farming communities who historically shared water from the Ajan Bund for irrigation, is critical to maintaining bird habitat. The Desert National Park in the Jaisalmer and Barmer districts is the largest national park in India by area and protects the unique desert ecosystem of the Thar, including the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard. The Great Indian Bustard, Rajasthan's state bird, has experienced catastrophic population decline due to habitat loss, power line collisions, and hunting, and its current population has declined to dangerously low levels, making intensive conservation intervention urgent. The government has been implementing habitat improvement, captive breeding, and power line monitoring programmes to protect this iconic bird.