UP's 4th tiger reserve proposed in Chitrakoot

LUCKNOW: The forest department has sent a proposal to the state government to develop Ranipur wildlife sanctuary as the fourth tiger reserve in UP. The reserve may become a habitat for tigers crossing over from Panna tiger reserve of Madhya Pradesh.
Chief wildlife warden, UP, SK Upadhyay confirmed that the proposal is with the state government.
In 2015, the forest department had mooted the idea of developing Ranipur wildlife sanctuary in Chitrakoot into a tiger reserve given its proximity to Panna.
The two reserves are located at a distance of 150km along the UP-MP border. Ranipur doesn't have tigers but the ones from Panna keep frequenting the sanctuary. Tiger pugmarks are regularly found in Ranipur sanctuary. The idea behind developing Ranipur as a separate tiger reserve was to let some stray tigers from Panna find their territories at the place.
The final decision would be taken by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the National Board of Wildlife.
Presently, UP has three tiger reserves - Lakhimpur (884 sqkm Dudhwa reserve), Pilibhit (720 sqkm) and Bijnor (80 sqkm Amangarh reserve). While these reserves are tiger-dominant, about 250 sqkm Ranipur sanctuary has no 'resident' tigers. The sanctuary, though, has large antelope population comprising chinkara, sloth bear, black bucks and leopards.