About Rajaji Tiger Reserve:
- Location:
- Rajaji Tiger Reserve (earlier Rajaji National Park) is located in the Shivalik range of the Himalayas and spread over 820 kms.
- It covers a part of over three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun, and Pauri Garhwal.
- It was named after the famous freedom fighter Rajgopalachari, popularly known as "Rajaji".
- The park was created in 1983 by the amalgamation of three sanctuaries: Rajaji Sanctuary and National park (estd. 1948), Motichur Sanctuary (estd. 1964), and Chilla sanctuary (estd. 1977).
- On 20 April 2015, its name was changed to Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
- It is famous as an elephant habitat, as there are around 600 elephants in Rajaji.
- It's location in a transition zone between temperate western Himalaya and central Himalaya enhances the species diversity.
- Vegetation: The area is covered with diverse forest types ranging from semi-evergreen to deciduous and from mixed broad-leaved to Terai grassland and has been classified as Indus-Ganges Monsoon Forest type.
- Flora:
- Lofty strands of Sal trees (Shorea Robusta) dominate most parts of the reserve.
- Other popular flora found here include Rohini, Palash, Shisham, Sal, Sandan, Khair, Arjun, Baans, Semul, Chamaror, etc.
- Fauna: It has a sizeable population of Tiger and Asian Elephants. It is home to a variety of wild animals like Leopard, Jungle cat, Himalayan Black Bear, Sloth Bear, Striped Hyena, Goral, Sambar, Wild Pig, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, etc.
