Description
The sloth bear is a keystone species of the hills and mountains of the semi-arid region of western India. After successfully reviving the big cat population, authorities at the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan are now working to further enhance the park's biodiversity by introducing sloth bears. In the coming days, the national park will welcome two pairs of sloths brought from the Sundha Mata forest area of Jalore district.
"We have received permission to relocate two pairs of sloths in Sariksa. Teams have been formed for the relocation of the sloths which will take place in the coming days," Roop Narayan Meena, field manager of the Tiger Reserve told PTI. Sariska. .
He said the sloths were mainly found in the Sundha Mata area of Jalore, apart from Mount Abu.
“Sloths are moved to Sariska to enhance the park's biodiversity,” he said.
Meena said that surveillance and protection measures for the animal will be guaranteed.
The sloth bear is a keystone species of the hills and mountains of the semi-arid region of western India. It is classified as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Sariska is known for the success of her tiger relocation program. After all of Sariska's tigers disappeared in 2005, a tiger relocation program was introduced in 2008 under which two big cats were relocated for the first time from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.
Since then, the tiger population has revived and with the recent sighting of two cubs, the number of big cats has risen to 27. This includes 13 females, eight males and six cubs.
Located in the Alwar district of Rajasthan, at a distance of 60 km from the national capital, Sariska is spread over 1213.34 km² in the Aravalli Hills, the oldest mountain ranges in the world.
The reserve has a mix of tropical dry deciduous and tropical spiny forest and is dotted with many narrow valleys.
Apart from tigers, Sariska has a large number of leopard populations. It is also home to many striped hyenas, jackals, jungle cats, desert cats, rusty-spotted cats, foxes, ratel, palm civets, common Indian civets, red-tailed mongoose, gray mongoose, common mongoose, and herbivores such as Sambar, chital, wild boars, porcupines and langurs.
Sariska is also known for its large population of rhesus monkeys.
