Ranthambhore National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Ranthambhore National Park
Ranthambhore NP
Location	Sawai Madhopur, India
Nearest city	Jaipur
Coordinates	26°01′02″N 76°30′09″E / 26.01733°N 76.50257°E / 26.01733; 76.50257Coordinates: 26°01′02″N 76°30′09″E / 26.01733°N 76.50257°E / 26.01733; 76.50257
Area	392 km2 (151 sq mi)
Established	1980

Ranthambore National Park or Ranthambhore National Park or simply Ranthambhore (Rajasthani: रणथमभोर राष्ट्रीय उद्यान) is one of the largest national parks in northern India. It is situated in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 110 km north east of Kota and 180 km south east of Jaipur, which is also the nearest airport. The nearest town and railway station is at Sawai Madhopur, about 11 km away and Kota is the another convenient Station as all the train stops at Kota which is 110 km from Ranthambhore. RIDCOR operates a mega highway between Kota to Ranthambhore.

Ranthambhore was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955 by the Government of India, and was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973. Ranthambore became a national park in 1980. In 1984, the adjacent forests were declared the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary, and in 1991 the tiger reserve was enlarged to include Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi sanctuaries.

Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary is known for its tigers and is one of the best places in India to see these majestic predators in the jungle. Tigers can be easily spotted even during the day time. A good time to visit Ranthambore National Park is in November and May when the nature of the dry deciduous forests makes sightings common. Its deciduous forests were once a part of the magnificent jungles of Central India.

The park lies at the edge of a plateau, and is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. There are several lakes in the park. It is named for the historic Ranthambhore fortress, which lies within the national park. The park covers an area of 392 km², and is known for its tiger population, and is one of India's Project Tiger reserves. Other major wild animals include leopard, nilgai, wild boar, sambar, hyena, sloth bear and chital. It is also home to wide variety of trees, plants, birds and reptiles. Ranthambore is also the site for one of the largest banyan trees in India.Picture

Wildlife[link]

Ranthambore is best known for its large tiger population. As tourism in the park increased, so did the population of neighbouring villages. This led to increasing amounts of fatal human-tiger interactions and poaching. The Indian Government started Project Tiger in 1973 with an allotted area of 60 mi². It was later expanded to become what is now called, the Ranthambore National Park. Besides tigers, the reserve has thriving bird population with more than 270 different species of birds here.^[1]

In 2005, there were 26 tigers living in Ranthambore. This was significantly lower than the recorded tiger population of the reserve in 1982, which then stood at 44. According to non-government sources there were 34 adult tigers in the Ranthambore National Park in 2008. More than 14 tiger cubs were also recorded. This was largely attributed to sustained efforts by forest officials to curb poaching. Villagers in the region were being given incentives to stay out of the park and surveillance cameras were also fitted across the reserve.^[2] The Indian government also committed US$153 million for the efforts.^[2] These efforts have been successful with Ranthambore having enough tigers to participate in the Sariska Tiger Reserve relocation efforts.^[3] The first aerial relocation of the male tiger (Dara) from Ranthambore to Sariska was done using a Mi-17 helicopter on 28 Jun 2008 by Wing Commander Vimal Raj. Unfortunately, this translocated tiger died on 15 November 2010 due to unknown reasons.

Tigers[link]

During the past few years, there has been a decline in tiger population in Ranthambore due to poaching and other reasons. However there were some tigers who succeeded in passing on their genes even in such circumstances. A tigress known as "Lady of the Lakes" was, at a very young age, separated from her parents due to increased poaching in the area. The young tigress was called Macchli since she had a mark on her body which resembled a fish. She mated with a male who resided just beside her territory and gave birth to three female cubs, one being dubbed 'Macchli - The Junior' in a documentary. Despite Macchli also being the name of her mother, the young cub found herself stuck with the designation. The father of the younger Macchli died early due to an unknown disease, which was confirmed when forest officer Fateh Singh Rathore saw him in Ranthambore. After this, the junior Macchli found the scent of a different male, known as Bumburam, and mated with him. She gave birth to two cubs; Slant Ear and Broken Tail. Baccha is believed to be her grandson.

Broken Tail travelled on her own outside the park area (from Ranthambore to Darra), enroute she was killed by a train while crossing the railway tracks.

Features[link]

A panoramic view of Ranthambore NP from Ranthambore Fort.

Forests: The Park consists of typical dry deciduous elements with Anogeissus pendula forests - a dominant tree species. However, mix deciduous elements could be seen in the valleys and along water bodies. The Flora of the Park is represented by 539 species of flowering plants.

Tigers: The Park is one of the best national parks in the country to spot a tiger. This majestic predator can be spotted ambling or basking under the sun here.

Safari Rides: Rides are carried out at two times: 06:30 and 14:30. Each ride lasts for about 3 hours. There are two options of vehicles for the safari : 20 seater open top canter or 6 seater open top gypsy. Each ride costs around Rs700-800 per person. The core park area has been divided into several zones and the safari vehicles go on one of those zones. Since there is a good chance of not sighting a tiger in one outing, people usually take more than one ride. There are a lot of quality resorts on the way from Sawai Madhopur to the national park.

Ranthambore Fort: The majestic fort, built in 10th-century, towers over the entire park area. It stands at a height of 700 feet above the surrounding plain. Inside the fort, there are three red Karauli stone temples devoted to Ganesh, Shiva and Ramlalaji. The temples were constructed in 12th and 13th centuries.

Padam Talao: This is the largest of the all the lakes located inside the park, and the beautiful red sandstone Jogi Mahal is located at the very edge of this lake. A gigantic banyan tree, considered to be India’s second largest, is near the lake.

Transportation[link]

Air : Jaipur at 180 km is the nearest airport from Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary.

Rail : Ranthambore National Park is around 11 km away from Sawai Madhopur railway station, that lies on the Delhi to Mumbai trunk route. This is by far the best way of reaching the place from Delhi, Jaipur or Kota. Best train from Delhi is Kota Janshatabdi Express - having 3 AC chair Car Coaches and reaches Sawai Madhopur at 6 pm. While returning catch the same Kota Janshatabdi Express at 7 am in the morning for Delhi. Another train from Delhi is the August Kranti Express- this is the cleanest, fastest and most punctual train; hygenic meals are served aboard the train. Train departs from Nizammudin railway station in Delhi; the Sawai Madhopur stop is a short one ( 2 minutes) so be ready when your station comes. For the return to Delhi, again catch the Rajdhani- this one is coming from Mumbai and also terminates at the Nizammudin station in Delhi. Again Sawai Madhopur is a short stop.

Roads : A good network of buses connect Sawai Madhopur, the nearest town from Ranthambore to all the major cities within the state of Rajasthan. The frequency of direct services though is not very great. Mostly you have to hire a Car or a Taxi from Kota to Ranthambhore. Kota - Ranthambore is a Mega Highway and can be covered in 1.5 hours easily.

General information[link]

Aravali Range inside Ranthambhore, Rajasthan.

• National Park area: 275 km² core area. 392 km² including buffer zone.
• Tiger Reserve area: 1334 km²
• Altitude: 215 to 505 meters above sea level
• Kota Station has a halt of all the trains for 10-15 min and connects Sawai Madhopur with almost 50 trains.
• Closest airport is Jaipur at 180 km
• Terrain: Dense tropical dry forest, open bushland and rocky terrain interspersed with lakes and streams
• Ecoregion: Kathiarbar-Gir dry deciduous forests
• Best Season: From November to March
• Closed: Monsoon season (July - August)

See also[link]

• Rājasthān
• Ranthambore Fort
• Sawai Madhopur
• Sariska National Park

References[link]

5. Singh, V. and Shrivastava, A. 2007. Biodiversity of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur. ISBN 81-7233-492-3.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ranthambore National Park

• Gov. India - Project Tiger General Info
• Ranthambore National Park Map
• Ranthambhore/ About Ranthambhore
• Photographers visit to the park, including a tiger sighting[www.rajwadaholidays.com]
• Ranthambore National Park travel guide from Wikitravel

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An elephant safari through the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal, India

The Teide National Park in Tenerife (Spain).

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently (for example, see Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in the United States^[1]), an international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined National Parks as its category II type of protected areas. While ideas for this type of national park had been suggested previously, the United States established the first such one, Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. The largest national park in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park, which was established in 1974. According to the IUCN, there were 6,555 national parks worldwide in 2006 that meet its criteria.^[2]

Definitions[link]

Landsat 7 image of Kavir National Park, Iran.

In 1969 the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) declared a national park to be a relatively large area with particular defining characteristics.^[3] A national park was deemed to be a place

• with one or several ecosystems not materially altered by human exploitation and occupation, where plant and animal species, geomorphological sites and habitats are of special scientific, educative and recreative interest or which contain a natural landscape of great beauty.
• the highest competent authority of the country has taken steps to prevent or eliminate exploitation or occupation as soon as possible in the whole area and to effectively enforce the respect of ecological, geomorphological, or aesthetic features which have led to its establishment.
• visitors are allowed to enter, under special conditions, for inspirational, educative, cultural, and recreative purposes.

In 1971 these criteria were further expanded upon leading to more clear and defined benchmarks to evaluate a national park. These include:

• a minimum size of 1,000 hectares within zones in which protection of nature takes precedence
• statutory legal protection
• a budget and staff sufficient to provide sufficient effective protection
• prohibition of exploitation of natural resources (including the development of dams) qualified by such activities as sport, fishing, the need for management, facilities, etc.

While national parks are generally understood to be administered by national governments (hence the name), in Australia national parks are run by state governments and predate the Federation of Australia.

History[link]

Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

In 1835, the English poet William Wordsworth described the Lake District as a^[4]

sort of national property, in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy.

The painter George Catlin, in his travels through the American West, wrote during the 1830s that the Native Americans in the United States might be preserved^[5]

(by some great protecting policy of government) ...in a magnificent park ...A nation's Park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!

The first effort by any government to set aside such protected lands was in the United States, on April 20, 1832, when President Andrew Jackson signed legislation that the 22nd United States Congress had enacted to set aside four sections of land around what is now Hot Springs, Arkansas to protect the natural, thermal springs and adjoining mountainsides for the future disposal of the US government.^[6][7] It was known as the Hot Springs Reservation. However no legal authority was established and federal control of the area was not clearly established until 1877.^[6]

The next effort by any government to set aside such protected lands was, again, in the United States, when President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on June 30, 1864, ceding the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias (later becoming the Yosemite National Park) to the state of California:^[8]

.... the said State shall accept this grant upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation; shall be inalienable for all time; .... — 38th United States Congress, Session 1, 1864

Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first truly national park.^[9] When news of the natural wonders of the Yellowstone were first promulgated, the land was part of a federally governed territory. Unlike Yosemite, there was no state government that could assume stewardship of the land, so the federal government took on direct responsibility for the park, the official first national park of the United States. It took the combined effort and interest of conservationists, politicians and especially businesses—namely, the Northern Pacific Railroad, whose route through Montana would greatly benefit by the creation of this new tourist attraction—to ensure the passage of that landmark enabling legislation by the United States Congress to create Yellowstone National Park. Theodore Roosevelt, already an active campaigner and so influential as good stump speakers were highly necessary in the pre-telecommunications era, was highly influential in convincing fellow Republicans and big business to back the bill.

The United States in 1872. When Yellowstone was established, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho were territories, not states. For this reason, the federal government had to assume responsibility for the land, hence the creation of the national park.

American Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wallace Stegner, has written:^[10]

National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.

Even with the creation of Yellowstone, Yosemite, and nearly 37 other national parks and monuments, another 44 years passed before an agency was created in the United States to administer these units in a comprehensive way — the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). Businessman Stephen Mather and his journalist partner Robert Sterling Yard pushed hardest for the creation of the NPS, writing then-Secretary of the Interior Franklin Knight Lane about such a need and spearheading a large publicity campaign for their movement. Lane invited Mather to come to Washington, DC to work with him to draft and see passage of the National Park Service Organic Act, which the 64th United States Congress enacted and which President Woodrow Wilson signed into law on August 25, 1916. Of the 397 sites managed by the National Park Service of the United States, only 58 carry the designation of National Park.

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA Yellowstone was the first national park in the world.

Following the idea established in Yellowstone there soon followed parks in other nations. In Australia, the Royal National Park was established just south of Sydney in 1879, becoming the world's second official national park. Rocky Mountain National Park became Canada's first national park in 1885. New Zealand established Tongariro National Park in 1887. In Europe the first national parks were a set of nine parks in Sweden in 1909; Europe has some 359 national parks as of 2010.^{[citation needed]} Africa's first national park was established in 1925 when Albert I of Belgium designated an area of what is now Democratic Republic of Congo centred around the Virunga Mountains as the Albert National Park (since renamed Virunga National Park). In 1973, Mount Kilimanjaro was classified as a National Park and was opened to public access in 1977.^[11] In 1926, the government of South Africa designated Kruger National Park as the nation's first national park. After World War II, national parks were founded all over the world. The Vanoise National Park in the Alps was the first French national park, created in 1963 after public mobilization against a touristic project.

See also[link]

	Environment portal
	Ecology portal
	Earth sciences portal
	Sustainable development portal

References[link]