Knowledge Nugget: Importance of the International Big Cat Alliance for UPSC Exam

Key Takeaways:

1. The model statement entering into unit marks the authoritative commencement of the IBCA’s operations, activities, and programmes arsenic mandated. It tin present found its governing bodies, secretariat, and administrative structures. 27 countries including India person consented to articulation IBCA.

2. Five signatory countries, including India, were required to ratify and formally deposit their instrumentality of ratification for the IBCA model statement to travel into force. Liberia became a enactment to the model statement past month, the 5th to ratify the statement on with India, Nicaragua, Eswatini, and Somalia, the MEA stated.

3. The IBCA is an inaugural launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi successful April 2023 successful Mysuru commemorating the 50th day of Project Tiger. The objective of the IBCA is to guarantee practice for the conservation of 7 large cats: lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, snowfall leopard, jaguar, and puma, and heighten cognition speech and threats associated with them.

4. Besides scope countries (which location 1 oregon much of these large cats), the confederation besides includes “non-range countries funny successful large feline conservation, conservation partners, and technological organisations moving successful the tract of large feline conservation.

5. India formally joined the IBCA successful September 2024. Prior to that, the Union Cabinet had approved the constitution of IBCA’s office successful February 2024 and cleared a one-time budgetary enactment of Rs 150 crore for it for the 2023-24 to 2027-28 period.

About the Big Cats

1. Lion (Panthera Leo): Native to Africa and Asia, the lion is the astir societal cat, and lives successful groups called prides. They similar unfastened forests specified arsenic scrubland, and big males person a salient mane. Project Lion was announced successful August 2020 to unafraid the aboriginal of Asiatic lions done comprehensive, semipermanent conservation efforts. August 10 is observed arsenic World Lion Day annually to rise consciousness of the rapidly diminishing lion colonisation and the captious request for their conservation. Gujarat is the lone location of the Asiatic Lions.

2. Leopard (Panthera Pardus): There are 9 taxon of leopards, which are recovered successful some Asia and Africa. The leopard, the smallest of the large cats, is good known for its quality to accommodate to a assortment of settings. This taxon is simply a nocturnal mammal, they tin hunt astatine night. The “Status of Leopards successful India, 2022” study states that determination were 13784 leopards successful India successful 2022 compared to 12,852 successful 2018.

Snow Leopard (Photo source: Wikimedia Commons)

3. Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia): The mountainous regions of twelve Asian countries—Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—make up the situation scope of the snowfall leopard. The Snow Leopard Population Assessment successful India (SPAI), 2024 has estimated a colonisation of 718 successful Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

4. Tiger (Panthera Tigris): According to the 5th rhythm of the All India Tiger Estimation 2022 summary report, India is location to astir 3,167 tigers, accounting for much than 70 per cent of the world’s chaotic tigers. Project Tiger, a centrally sponsored scheme, was launched successful 1973 in 9 reserves passim the states of Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and West Bengal for the conservation of Tiger.

5. Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus): India was location to Asiatic cheetahs, and not the African subspecies that were introduced successful 2022. The Asiatic cheetah is classified arsenic a “critically endangered” taxon by the IUCN Red List and is believed to past lone successful Iran. While African Cheetah is listed arsenic a vulnerable (VU) species connected the IUCN Red List. The intercontinental translocation of African cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was launched nether Project Cheetah (2022).

6. Jaguars (Panthera Onca): Jaguars are not autochthonal to India and are chiefly recovered successful South America. Melanistic (black) Jaguars are communal and are often called achromatic panthers. Jaguar was a almighty motif successful the Mayan and Aztec civilisations.

Puma (Photo source: Wikimedia Commons)

7. Puma (Puma concolor): Closely related to the home cat, this genus has lone 1 extant species, the cougar. It is the biggest of the “small cats”. They are besides called ‘mountain lions’ and ‘panthers’ crossed their scope from the Canadian Yukon to the Southern Andes. They are not autochthonal to India.

(Source: IUCN, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972)

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Important National Parks/Wildlife Sanctuary

1. Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand: Located astatine the foothills of Himalayas, adjacent Nainital, the parkland successful itself is legendary; it was the archetypal nationalist parkland successful India and it is present that Project Tiger was launched.

2. Sunderban National Park, West Bengal: Sunderban National Park is simply a biosphere reserve, nationalist park, and tiger reserve. It is besides famed for the Sunderban Delta, which is the largest mangrove ecosystem successful the satellite and a UNESCO World Heritage Site arsenic well. The nationalist parkland is celebrated for the Royal Bengal Tiger, and different wildlife which includes sportfishing cats, macaques, leopard cats, Indian grey mongoose, chaotic boar, flying fox, pangolin, and Indian grey mongoose.

3. Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh: It has been notified arsenic the 57th Tiger Reserve of the state successful December 2024. It has a halfway country of ​​763.8 sq km, buffer country of ​​507.6 sq km and full country of ​​1271.4 sq km. Now, determination are Eight tiger reserves successful Madhya Pradesh.

4. Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh: Located successful the bosom of Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh National Park is 1 of the champion places to spot tigers successful their earthy habitat. It has the highest density of Bengal tigers successful India.

(Source: Cabinet announces International ‘Big Cat’ Alliance, International Tiger Day: Spot The Big Cat At These National Parks In India, Cheetahs and others: cognize the 7 large cats)

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