Pragnya IAS · Chapter 5 of 15 · Species reserves
Tiger reserves in India map
Trace Project Tiger’s network of 50-plus reserves across five landscapes and learn the records — first, largest and newest — that Prelims loves.
STUDY NOTE 1
Project Tiger, 1973
Launched in 1973 with nine reserves, Project Tiger now runs more than fifty reserves administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Corbett was the first; Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh) is the largest by area.
STUDY NOTE 2
Five landscape clusters
Read the map as clusters: the Shivalik-Gangetic plain, the central Indian highlands, the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats and northeast hills, and the Sundarbans mangrove delta. Each cluster is a separate conservation unit.
STUDY NOTE 3
The 2022 census
India’s 2022 estimation counted about 3,682 tigers — roughly three-quarters of the world’s wild tigers. Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttarakhand lead the state tally; treat the number as an estimate with a range, not an exact headcount.
STUDY NOTE 4
Core and buffer
Every tiger reserve has a core (critical tiger habitat, inviolate) and a buffer (co-existence zone). Sathyamangalam (Tamil Nadu) was a UPSC answer; newer additions such as Guru Ghasidas–Tamor Pingla (Chhattisgarh) keep the list moving — check the latest count before the exam.
Map reading activity
Mark the five landscape clusters on an outline map. Write the first, the largest and one newest tiger reserve from memory.
What does this tiger reserves of india lesson explain?
Launched in 1973 with nine reserves, Project Tiger now runs more than fifty reserves administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Corbett was the first; Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh) is the largest by area.
UPSC map practice & Geography Optional connection
For UPSC Prelims environment questions and GS III, pair each protected area or convention site with its state, ecosystem and flagship species. Use a labelled sketch to show distribution; lists and counts change, so note the update date rather than memorising a frozen tally. These are Pragnya-authored exercises, not official UPSC previous-year questions.
References & original artwork
This lesson covers chapter 5 of the supplied reference curriculum. Pragnya IAS notes, activities and questions are independently authored; source PDF pages, branding, personal watermarks and unverified PYQs are not republished. India state geometry: geoBoundaries (CC BY 2.5 IN), simplified. These are educational concept views, not legal boundaries or official protected-area maps.