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Ranthambore National Park

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Ranthambore National Park
Ranthambore National Park is located in Rajasthan
Ranthambore National Park
Location within Rajasthan
Ranthambore National Park is located in India
Ranthambore National Park
Location within India
Map
Interactive map of Ranthambore National Park
LocationSawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, India
Nearest citySawai Madhopur
Coordinates26°01′02″N 76°30′09″E / 26.01733°N 76.50257°E / 26.01733; 76.50257
Area1,334 km2 (515 sq mi)
Established
  • 1974 (as Tiger Reserve)
  • 1980 (as National Park)
Governing bodyMinistry of Environment and Forests, Project Tiger

Ranthambore National Park is a national park in the Indian state of Rajasthan with an area of 1,334 km2 (515 sq mi). 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.[1]

History

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Ranthambore National Park was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955, initially covering an area of 282 km2 (109 sq mi). It was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1974.[2] It was declared a national park in 1980.[3]

Geography

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Landscape of Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park covers a total area of 1,334 km2 (515 sq mi) including the Kailadevi Wildlife Sanctuary and Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary. The core area spans approximately 275 km2 (106 sq mi). It harbours dry deciduous forests and open grassy meadows at an elevation of about 215–505 m (705–1,657 ft).[4]

Ranthambore Fort was built in the 10th century at 210 m (700 ft) above the surrounding plain. Inside the fort are three red-stone temples devoted to Ganesh, Shiva, and Ramlalaji, and a Digambara temple of Sumatinatha and Sambhavanatha that were constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries. Padam Talao is the largest of the many lakes in the park, with a historic rest house on its edge.[5]

Flora

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Ranthambore National Park harbours over 300 tree species, including more than 100 of medicinal importance.[2] The land features dense tropical dry forest, open bushland, and rocky terrain, interspersed with lakes and streams. The ecoregion includes the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests.[6] The characteristic tree of Ranthambore National Park is the dhonk (Anogeissus pendula) which is dry and brown in the summers but even few drops of rain turn the trees green.[7] [8]

Fauna

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A group of gray langurs at Ranthambore fort
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.[5][9] More than 270 bird species have been recorded, including peafowl, crested serpent eagle, painted francolin, and Indian paradise flycatcher.[2] It is also home to many species of reptiles such as monitor lizard, Indian rock python, Indian cobra, Indian softshell turtle and mugger crocodile.[10] Cheetahs occasionally wander in from nearby Kuno National Park.[11]

Tigers

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Tiger in Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park 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 population declined to about 15 individuals in the early 2000s. [12] A genomic study indicated that the tigers might be inbred, but there are no visible signs of inbreeding depression.[13] As of 2022, there were 69 tigers in the national park.[14]

Ecosystem valuation

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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).[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Ranthambore National Park". Government of Rajasthan.
  2. 1 2 3 Riley, L. (2005). Nature's strongholds : the world's greatest wildlife reserves. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press. p. 225. ISBN 9780691122199.
  3. ↑ "Ranthambore Tiger Reserve". WWF India. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Derr, P. G. (2003). Case studies in environmental ethics. Maryland, USA: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 17. ISBN 0742531376.
  5. 1 2 "Ranthambore National Park features an excellent variety of wildlife amidst dry scrublands and fortress ruins". Business Insider. 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "Kathiarbar-Gir Dry Deciduous Forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  7. ↑ https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/249711. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ https://dhonk.com/pages/our-story. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ "7 wildlife species you should look out for when in Ranthambore National Park". Times of India. 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  10. ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377183561_Diversity_of_Vertebrate_Fauna_of_Ranthambhore_National_Park_RNP_India. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ Mishra, A. (2026). "A cheetah walked all the way from Kuno to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. 'All 3 big cats in park'". ThePrint. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  12. ↑ Sadhu, A.; Jayam, P. P. C.; Qureshi, Q.; Shekhawat, R. S.; Sharma, S.; Jhala, Y. V. (2017). "Demography of a small, isolated tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) population in a semi-arid region of western India". BMC Zoology. 2 16. doi:10.1186/s40850-017-0025-y.
  13. ↑ Khan, A., K. Patel, H. Shukla, A. Viswanathan, T. van der Valk, U. Borthakur, P. Nigam, A. Zachariah, Y.V. Jhala, M. Kardos, & U. Ramakrishnan (2021). "Genomic evidence for inbreeding depression and purging of deleterious genetic variation in Indian tigers". PNAS. 118 (49). doi:10.1073/pnas.2023018118.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Patil, N. (2024). "Conservation not enough for the highly inbred Ranthambore tigers — they require genetic rescue". Down To Earth. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  15. ↑ "Economic Valuation of Tiger Reservers in India – A value+ approach" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.

Further reading

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