Ranthambore National Park
National park in Rajasthan, India
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Ranthambore National Park is a national park in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It covers a total area of 1,334 km2 (515 sq mi). It is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. It is named after the historic Ranthambore Fort, which lies within its boundaries in Sawai Madhopur district.[1]
| Ranthambore National Park | |
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  Location in Rajasthan  Ranthambore National Park (India) | |
 Interactive map of Ranthambore National Park | |
| Location | Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, India |
| Nearest city | Sawai Madhopur |
| Coordinates | 26°01′02″N 76°30′09″E |
| Area | 1,334 km2 (515 sq mi) |
| Established |
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| Governing body | Ministry of Environment and Forests, Project Tiger |
History
Ranthambore National Park was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955, initially covering an area of 282 km2 (109 sq mi). It was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1974.[2] It was declared a national park in 1980.[citation needed]
Geography
Ranthambore National Park covers a total area of 1,334 km2 (515 sq mi) including the Kailadevi Wildlife Sanctuary and Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary. The core area spans approximately 275 km2 (106 sq mi). It harbours dry deciduous forests and open grassy meadows at an elevation range of about 215–505 m (705–1,657 ft).[3]
Ranthambore Fort was built in the 10th century by Chahamanas of Ranastambhapura at 210 m (700 ft) above the surrounding plain. Inside the fort are three red-stone temples devoted to Ganesh, Shiva and Ramlalaji. There is a Digamber Jain temple of Sumatinatha and Sambhavanatha. The temples were constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries. Padam Talao is the largest of the many lakes in the park. A red sandstone Jogi Mahal is on the edge of the lake.[4]
Flora
Ranthambore National Park harbours over 300 tree species , including more than 100 of medicinal importance.[2] The land features dense tropical dry forest, open bushland, and rocky terrain, interspersed with lakes and streams. The ecoregion includes the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests.[5]
Fauna
Ranthambore National Park hosts many wild animals, including chital, sambar, blackbuck, chinkara, nilgai, langurs, rhesus macaque, golden jackal, striped hyena, jungle cat, caracal, Indian leopard, Bengal tiger and sloth bear.[4][6] The park hosts over 270 species of birds, including peafowl, crested serpent eagle, painted francolin, and Indian paradise flycatcher.[6][2] Cheetahs occasionally wander in from nearby Kuno National Park.[7]
Tigers
Ranthambore is known for its Bengal tiger population. During the past few years, there has been a decline in numbers due to poaching and other reasons.[8] The number of tigers was 25 in 2005 and 48 in 2013.[9] As of 2022, there were 69 tigers in the national park.[10]
Ecosystem valuation
Economic valuation of the tiger reserve estimated that its flow benefits are worth 8.3 billion rupees (0.56 lakh/hectare) annually. Gene-pool protection services (7.11 billion), provisioning of water to the neighbouring region (115 million) and provisioning of habitat and refuge for wildlife (182 million) were some of the important services that emanated from the tiger reserve. Other services included nutrient cycling (34 million) and sequestration of carbon (69 million).[11]