About Global Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS) status

• • Launched in 2013, CATS is a conservation tool that sets minimum standards to manage target species, and encourages assessments to benchmark progress.
  • Tigers are the first species selected for the initiative. 
  • CATS is a partnership of tiger range governments, inter-governmental agencies, institutions, NGOs and conservation organisations and is also being adopted for use beyond tigers, including potentially jaguars, lions, and freshwater dolphins.
  • India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change announced in 2020 the adoption of the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS) across all the country’s 50 tiger reserves.
  • CATS is being implemented across 125 sites in seven tiger range countries and India has the highest 94 sites.
  • The 50 tiger reserves are spread across 18 states covering an area of over 72,000 km2 and contain over 70 % of the world’s tiger population.

• The 14 tiger reserves, which have been accredited status in India are

1. Satpura, Kanha and Panna in Madhya Pradesh, Pench in Maharashtra, 
2. Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar, 
3. Dudhwa in Uttar Pradesh,
4. Sunderbans in West Bengal, 
5. Parambikulam in Kerala, 
6. Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka and 
7. Mudumalai and Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.

Mudumalai Tiger Reserve 

About the Reserve

• • It is located in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. 
  • Present at the tri-juncture of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) is a part of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, the first Biosphere Reserve in India, declared in 1986. 
  • A variety of habitats ranging from tropical evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest, moist teak forest, dry teak forest, secondary grasslands and swamps are found here.
  • It has a common boundary with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) on the West and Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) on the North.
  • It is known for its flagship species like Tiger, Elephant etc.

• Mudumalai is home to 103 Tigers.

Anamalai Tiger Reserve

About the Reserve

• Anamalai Tiger Reserve located at Pollachi near Coimbatore is one of the largest landscapes in the south of Palghat Gap with 4000 sq km of protected area.
• It is surrounded by Parambikulam Tiger Reserve on the East, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and Eravikulam National Park on the South Western side.
• Anamalai Tiger Reserve was declared as a Tiger reserve in the year 2007.
• A variety of habitats ranging from Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest , Semi Evergreen Forest, Grassland Vegetation, Moist Deciduous Forest and Montane Green Shola Forest are found here.
• It houses six indigenous tribal populations.
• At present, Anamalai is home to 20 tigers.

Why in News?

• The Mudumalai and Anamalai Tiger reserve get the global elite tag “CATS” for best tiger conservation practices.

References:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/two-tiger-reserves-in-tamil-nadu-earn-a-global-status-in-conservation/article36116949.ece
2. https://www.iucn.org/news/protected-areas/202007/global-tiger-day-2020-india-adopts-cats-standards-across-all-50-tiger-reserves
3. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/14-tiger-reserves-get-cats-accreditation-7429266/
4. https://ntca.gov.in/assets/uploads/briefnote/anamalai.pdf
5. https://www.forests.tn.gov.in/img/document/CIRCLES/ATR.pdf
6. https://www.mudumalaitigerreserve.com/about-us/