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Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve developed as cheetah habitat

Source:drishtiias ↗

Why It Matters

Important for MPPSC aspirants regarding wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves, and major conservation projects like Project Cheetah located within Madhya Pradesh.

Summary

Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh is being developed as a secondary habitat for cheetah introduction under Project Cheetah, expanding the conservation range beyond Kuno National Park.

Key Points

  • Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh has been prepared as a new potential habitat for cheetahs alongside Kuno National Park.
  • The reserve spans across districts including Sagar, Damoh, and Narsinghpur in Madhya Pradesh.
  • This initiative is part of India's ambitious Project Cheetah to establish a second home and free-ranging population of cheetahs in the wild.

Important Terms

Project Cheetah

An ambitious intercontinental wildlife reintroduction initiative launched in India in 2022 to restore cheetah populations after their extinction, expanding to secondary habitats like Madhya Pradesh's Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve.

UPSC context

Important for MPPSC Paper III (Environment & Biodiversity) and current affairs regarding wildlife conservation initiatives in Madhya Pradesh.

Source
National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)

A statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change established in 2005 to provide statutory backing and oversight for tiger conservation and reserves in India.

UPSC context

Crucial for MPPSC Paper III (Environment & Ecology) covering national statutory bodies and wildlife management authorities.

Source

Prelims Trap

Kuno National Park is the sole and exclusive habitat designated for Project Cheetah in India.

Aspirants often confuse Kuno as the *only* cheetah habitat in India, forgetting that Veerangana Durgavati has been developed as the secondary home.

Static Concepts Connected

Madhya Pradesh Geography & Wildlife Sanctuary System

Which districts and sanctuaries comprise Madhya Pradesh's 7th Tiger Reserve, Veerangana Durgavati?

  • Sanctuary Merger: Formation: Formed by merging Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary and Veerangana Durgavati Wildlife Sanctuary.
  • Geographic Spread: Districts: Spans across Sagar, Damoh, and Narsinghpur districts of Madhya Pradesh.
  • Wildlife Corridor: Corridor: Connects Panna Tiger Reserve in the northeast to Satpura Tiger Reserve in the southwest.

Cross-Topic Patterns

  • Cheetah Reintroduction Meets MP History

    Project Cheetah connects MP's wildlife conservation history with international translocation protocols, linking 16th-century Gond history (Rani Durgavati) with modern biogeography.

Expect factual match-the-following or statement questions on MP's tiger reserves, districts, and historical naming origins.

Linked PYQs · 3

Linked PYQs · 3

  • 2023MPPSC_PRELIMSGS1

    Which type of forests are not found in Madhya Pradesh ?

  • 2021MPPSC_PRELIMSGS1

    Corbett Tiger Reserve is located in which Indian State?

  • 2025MPPSC_PRELIMSGS1

    The Madhya Pradesh Government has undertaken several initiatives to commemorate the 500th birth anniversary of Rani Durgavati. Which of the following is/are correct? 1. Rani Durgavati Anna Protsahan Yojana 2. Formation of Rani Durgavati Memorial and Garden in Jabalpur 3. Establishment of Madhya Pradesh Tribal Women Welfare Board 4. Declaration of a public holiday on Rani Durgavati's birth anniversary