In a welcome move, Uttar Pradesh is set to have its fourth tiger reserve. Chitrakoot district&rsquos Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS) will have a planned reserve, a first in the state&rsquos Bundelkhand region. In September, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved the notification of the tiger reserve under Section 38 (v) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. 

 The reserve will span across 529.89 square km, with a 299.58 sq. km buffer zone and 230 sq. km core area. As of right now, the Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary in Chitrakoot district has no tigers of its own. However, officials have often spotted pugmarks in the area, credited to tigers who venture into the area from the nearby Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. As per a report by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), RWS is an important corridor for the movement of tigers. Another report suggests that 27 tigers in the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Uttar Pradesh, will now be relocated to the newly-notified Ranipur Tiger Reserve (RTR) in Chitrakoot.

Home to animals like blackbuck, chinkara, bear, leopard and wolf, the Ranipur Wildlife sanctuary was founded in 1977 and is part of the government&rsquos concentrated efforts for the protection and conservation of India&rsquos tiger population. A Ranipur Tiger Conservation Foundation will also be established in the region. The other tiger reserves in Uttar Pradesh include Dudhwa, Pilibhit, and Amangarh (a buffer of Corbett Tiger Reserve).