Consider the following protected areas: Which of the above are declared Tiger Reserves?

Answer: (b) 1, 3 and 4 only

Bandipur, Manas and Sundarbans are tiger reserves; Bhitarkanika is not.

Statement by statement

1. ✓ YES Bandipur (Karnataka) was one of the first nine tiger reserves (1973).

2. ✗ NO Bhitarkanika (Odisha) is a national park for mangroves and saltwater crocodiles.

3. ✓ YES Manas (Assam) was one of the first nine.

4. ✓ YES Sundarbans (West Bengal) was one of the first nine.

The idea

A tiger reserve is not a separate kind of park. It is a status given to an existing national park or sanctuary that has tigers, so that it gets Project Tiger funds and a core–buffer plan. A reserve can keep this status even after losing its tigers. Bhitarkanika is a mangrove park whose top predator is the saltwater crocodile.

Park or sanctuary with tigers → Tiger authority recommends → State notifies a tiger reserve → Core kept free of people; buffer for coexistence

The trap

Bhitarkanika and Sundarbans are both mangrove parks, so they feel alike.

Also know

The Sundarbans is the only mangrove forest in the world with tigers. Bhitarkanika (Odisha) has India’s largest population of saltwater crocodiles, and the nearby Gahirmatha beach is the largest mass-nesting site of olive ridley turtles.