NAWEGAON-NAGZIRA TIGER RESERVE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: Maharashtra's first elephant reserve, proposed for the Gondia and Gadchiroli districts, has been awaiting central approval for a year. 

Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve

• Location: It is situated in Gondia and Shandara Districts of Maharashtra. 
• Link: It is rich in biodiversity and has linkages with Kanha, Pench, and Tadoba Tiger Reserves.
• Status: It notified as the 46th tiger reserve of India on 12th December 2013, is the fifth tiger reserve in the state of Maharashtra.
• NNTR composition: It notified area of Nawegaon National Park, Nawegaon Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, New Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary and Koka Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Flora: The forests are classified as "Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous" (Champion and Seth, 1968).

o Major trees include Terminalia tomentosa, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Anogeisus latifolia, Pterocarpus marsupium, Diospyros melanoxylon, Ougeinia oogenesis.

• Fauna: Tiger, Panther, Small Indian Civet, Palm Civet, Wolf, Jackal, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Ratel, Common Giant Flying Squirrel etc.

Other Protected Areas in Maharashtra

• Sahyadri Tiger Reserve.
• Melghat Tiger reserve.
• Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary.
• Karnala Bird Sanctuary.
• Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
• Pench National Park.