Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR): Location, Flora and Fauna

Context

Bihar’s only tiger reserve Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) uses green energy to provide water to wild animals during the hot summer.

Valmiki Tiger Reserve Only Tiger Reserve Using Green Energy to Provide Water to Wildlife During Summer

• Use of Solar-Powered Pumps: It has installed cost-effective and eco-friendly solar-powered pumps for providing water regularly to tigers and other wildlife.
  • Earlier, water tankers were used to fill waterholes for wild animals, which was a costly and time-consuming process.
• Impact: Wild animals will not stray into human habitations in search of water during summer.

About Valmiki Tiger Reserve

• About: Valmiki Tiger Reserve forms the eastern most limit of the Himalayan Terai forests in India.
• Location: It is in the Terai in Bihar’s West Champaran district in the Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary. Nepal borders it to its north and Uttar Pradesh to its west.
• Rivers:  Rivers Gandak, Pandai, Manor, Harha, Masan, and Bhapsa flow through various parts of the reserve.
• Vegetation: The mixed moist deciduous vegetation along the alluvial plains of the Gandak River is dominated by sal (Shorea robusta), Rohini (Mallotus phillipensis) and sihor (Strebulus asper), etc.
• Fauna: Tigers, Leopards and Indian Wild Dogs are the large predators. Other species found here are the leopard cat, fishing cat, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, hog deer, Indian bison (Gaur), Nilgai, wild boar, etc.

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