Dudhwa Tiger Reserve
Encyclopedia
The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve consists of the Dudhwa National Park
, the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary
and the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary
in Uttar Pradesh
, India
and is located in the alluvial plain, the doab
of the Mohana
and Suheli rivers.
The area is known for tigers
, leopards
, Swamp deer, rhinoceros
, cheetal
, Hog deer
, Barking deer, sambar
, Wild boar, ratel
and around 400 species of birds and 90 species of fishes.
in England
in July 1976 was trained by Billy Arjan Singh
and released to the wild in Dudhwa National Park
, India
with the permission of India’s then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
in an attempt to prove the experts wrong that zoo bred hand reared tigers can ever be released in the wild with success. In the 1990s, some tigers from Dudhwa were observed to have the typical appearance of Siberian tigers: white complexion, pale fur, large head and wide stripes. With recent advances in science it was subsequently found that Siberian tigers' gene
s have polluted the otherwise pure Bengal tiger
gene pool of Dudhwa National Park. It was proved later that Twycross Zoo had been irresponsible and maintained no breeding records and had given India a hybrid Siberian-Bengal tigress instead. Dudhwa tigers constitute about 1% of India's total wild population, but the possibility exists of this genetic pollution
spreading to other tiger groups, at its worst, this could jeopardize the Bengal tiger as a distinct subspecies
.
Dudhwa National Park
Dudhwa National Park is located in the Terai of Uttar Pradesh, India and covers an area of 680 km2 with a buffer area of almost 190 km2. In altitude it ranges from about to . The international border with Nepal forms the northern boundary, and the River Suheli the southern boundary. Its...
, the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary
Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary
The Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve near Mailani in Uttar Pradesh, India. It covers an area of 227 km2 and was founded in 1972.-Fauna:* Tiger* Leopard* Swamp Deer* Hog Deer* Barking Deer* Bengal Florican...
and the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary
Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary
Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, and is located in Uttar Pradesh near the India-Nepal border, in the Terai area of Bahraich district...
in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and is located in the alluvial plain, the doab
Doab
A Doab is a term used in India and Pakistan for a "tongue" or tract of land lying between two confluent rivers...
of the Mohana
Mohana
Mohana is small town & Police Station in the Siddharth Nagar District, this name become from 2 rivers, 1 came from Himalaya and other from rural area...
and Suheli rivers.
The area is known for tigers
Bengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
, leopards
Indian leopard
The Indian leopard is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the five big cats found in India, apart from Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, snow leopard and clouded leopard....
, Swamp deer, rhinoceros
Indian Rhinoceros
The Indian Rhinoceros is also called Greater One-horned Rhinoceros and Asian One-horned Rhinoceros and belongs to the Rhinocerotidae family...
, cheetal
Chital
The chital or cheetal , also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan...
, Hog deer
Hog Deer
The Hog Deer is a small deer whose habitat ranges from Pakistan, through northern India, to mainland southeast Asia...
, Barking deer, sambar
Sambar
Sambar may refer to:*Sambar , a kind of deer*Sambar , a lentil-based dish common in South India and Sri Lanka*Sambhar, Rajasthan, a city and a municipality in Rajasthan, India**Sambhar Salt Lake, a lake in Rajasthan...
, Wild boar, ratel
Ratel
The honey badger , also known as the ratel, is a species of mustelid native to Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. Despite its name, the honey badger does not closely resemble other badger species, instead bearing more anatomical similarities to weasels...
and around 400 species of birds and 90 species of fishes.
Genetic pollution in wild Bengal tigers
Tara, a hand reared supposedly Bengal tigress acquired from Twycross ZooTwycross Zoo
Twycross Zoo is an zoo near the village of Twycross in Leicestershire, close to the border of Warwickshire . The zoo claims the largest collections of monkeys and apes in the World, and in 2006 re-launched itself as "Twycross Zoo – The World Primate Centre."The zoo attracts around 500,000 visitors...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in July 1976 was trained by Billy Arjan Singh
Billy Arjan Singh
Kunwar "Billy" Arjan Singh was an Indian hunter turned conservationist and author. He was the first who tried to reintroduce tigers and leopards from captivity into the wild....
and released to the wild in Dudhwa National Park
Dudhwa National Park
Dudhwa National Park is located in the Terai of Uttar Pradesh, India and covers an area of 680 km2 with a buffer area of almost 190 km2. In altitude it ranges from about to . The international border with Nepal forms the northern boundary, and the River Suheli the southern boundary. Its...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
with the permission of India’s then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
in an attempt to prove the experts wrong that zoo bred hand reared tigers can ever be released in the wild with success. In the 1990s, some tigers from Dudhwa were observed to have the typical appearance of Siberian tigers: white complexion, pale fur, large head and wide stripes. With recent advances in science it was subsequently found that Siberian tigers' gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
s have polluted the otherwise pure Bengal tiger
Bengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
gene pool of Dudhwa National Park. It was proved later that Twycross Zoo had been irresponsible and maintained no breeding records and had given India a hybrid Siberian-Bengal tigress instead. Dudhwa tigers constitute about 1% of India's total wild population, but the possibility exists of this genetic pollution
Genetic pollution
Genetic pollution is a controversial term for uncontrolled gene flow into wild populations. This gene flow is undesirable according to some environmentalists and conservationists, including groups such as Greenpeace, TRAFFIC, and GeneWatch UK.-Usage:...
spreading to other tiger groups, at its worst, this could jeopardize the Bengal tiger as a distinct subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
.