Major Tiger Reserves

Story hook

In 2009, the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh recorded what was once unthinkable: zero tigers. Just five years earlier, the reserve had 24 tigers. Poaching, lax enforcement, and the disappearance of the dominant male had emptied a 542 km² landscape. Around the same time, Sariska in Rajasthan also reported zero tigers (2005). Both became national scandals — the Sariska Crisis prompted Manmohan Singh to form the Tiger Task Force in 2005, whose recommendations led to the 2006 amendment of the Wildlife Protection Act and the birth of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

Cut to 2024: Panna has ~80 tigers; Sariska has ~28. India now has 57 tiger reserves across 18 states, covering ~2.5 % of its land area. The latest All India Tiger Estimation (2022, released April 2023) counted 3,682 tigers — up from 1,411 in 2006. Madhya Pradesh alone hosts 785 tigers — the highest of any state.

This file maps the reserves you must know — from the world's first (Jim Corbett, the namesake of the project) to the largest (Nagarjunsagar Srisailam, 3,296 km²) and the most recent additions (Madhav, Dholpur-Karauli, Veerangana Durgavati).

Why this matters for UPSC

Tiger reserves yield 2-3 Prelims MCQs per year on which state, key species, river system, latest additions, and CA|TS accreditation. Mains asks analytical questions on conservation models, tiger corridors, and human-wildlife conflict. Interview boards love "your favourite reserve and why?" probes.