Ranthambore National Park is a national park in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It covers a total area of . It is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. It is named after the historic Ranthambore Fort, which lies within its boundaries in Sawai Madhopur district.

History

Ranthambore National Park was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955, initially covering an area of . It was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1974.

Ranthambore Fort was built in the 10th century by Chahamanas of Ranastambhapura at above the surrounding plain. Inside the fort are three red-stone temples devoted to Ganesh, Shiva and Ramlalaji. There is a Digamber Jain temple of Sumatinatha and Sambhavanatha. The temples were constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries. Padam Talao is the largest of the many lakes in the park. A red sandstone Jogi Mahal is on the edge of the lake.

Flora

Ranthambore National Park harbours over 300 tree species, including more than 100 of medicinal importance.

Fauna

thumb|A group of gray langurs at Ranthambore fort

thumb|Spotted deer herd in Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park hosts many wild animals, including chital, sambar, blackbuck, chinkara, nilgai, langurs, rhesus macaque, golden jackal, striped hyena, jungle cat, caracal, Indian leopard, Bengal tiger and sloth bear. The park hosts over 270 species of birds, including peafowl, crested serpent eagle, painted francolin, and Indian paradise flycatcher. Cheetahs occasionally wander in from nearby Kuno National Park.

Tigers

thumb|Tiger in Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore is known for its Bengal tiger population. During the past few years, there has been a decline in numbers due to poaching and other reasons. The number of tigers was 25 in 2005 and 48 in 2013. As of 2022, there were 69 tigers in the national park.

Ecosystem valuation

Economic valuation of the tiger reserve estimated that its flow benefits are worth 8.3 billion rupees (0.56 lakh/hectare) annually. Gene-pool protection services (7.11 billion), provisioning of water to the neighbouring region (115 million) and provisioning of habitat and refuge for wildlife (182 million) were some of the important services that emanated from the tiger reserve. Other services included nutrient cycling (34 million) and sequestration of carbon (69 million).

See also

  • Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education
  • Rajiv Gandhi Regional Museum of Natural History

References

Further reading

  • Singh, V.; Shrivastava, A. 2007. Biodiversity of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur. .