About Palamau Tiger Reserve:
- Location: It is located on the western part of the Chotanagpur plateau in Jharkhand.
- The reserve forms part of the Betla National Park.
- It is one of the first nine tiger reserves created in the country at the inception of ‘Project Tiger’.
- It is the first reserve in the world in which a tiger census was carried out as a pugmark count as early as 1932 under the supervision of J.W. Nicholson.
- Three rivers, namely North Koyal, Auranga, and Burha, flow through the valleys.
- The geological formation consists of gneiss and includes granite and limestone.
- The reserve is very rich in minerals like Bauxite and Coal.
- Vegetation:
- It is primarily dominated by the Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous, Sal Forest and its associates.
- Smaller patches of Northern tropical Moist Deciduous forests exist too in the Reserve.
- Flora: Shorea robusta, Acacia catechu, Madhuca indica, Terminalia tomentosa, Butea monosperma, Pterocarpus marsupium, Anogeisus latifolia, Indigofera pulchela, etc.
- Fauna: The keystone species are Tigers, Elephants, Leopards, Grey Wolf, Gaur, Sloth Bear, Four-horned Antelope, Indian Ratel, Indian Otter, and Indian Pangolin.
