CHAPTER-2 STUDY AREA 2.1 Generation Introduction The study area, Palamau Tiger Reserve (PTR) lies in the western part of the Chhotanagpur plateau in the newly formed state of Jharkhand, which is carved out of the state of Bihar. The Chhotanagpur plateau is a region of great unevenness and consists of a succession of plateau, hills and valleys. It covers parts of three districts namely Latehar, Garhwa, Lohardaga. The PTR has an extremely diverse predator prey ecosystem which shelters a wide variety of wildlife consisting of tiger (Panthera tigris), elephant (Elephas maximus), panther (Panthera pardus), wild boar (Sus- Scrofa), bison (Bos gaurus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), langur (Presbytis entellus), spotted deer (Axis axis), sambar (Cervus unicolor), mouse deer (Moschiola meminna) small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii), hare (Lepus nigricollis), porcupine (Hystrix indica), giant squirrel (Petauristapetaurista) and large variety of birds, such as fowls, quills, partridges, reptiles, snakes etc and is equally rich in flora mainly sal (Shorea robusta Roxb. ex Gaertn. f), mahua (Madhuca longifolia (Koenig) Macbride var. latifolia (Roxb.) Chev.) and bamboo (Bambusa arundinacea (Retz.) Willd.). Due to human interference, the well-balanced and beautiful biological system becomes stressed. This plateau has impinged on the attention of researchers as being one of the ancient sites of continuous human habitation. At the end of the 19th century, estimated number of tigers was approximately 40,000. In the 21st century, the fast dwindling population of Indian Tiger (Panthera tigris) has put this species on the edge of extinction (Thapar, 1986). The high rate of extinction of this species has been noted in the systematic census carried out in the country. The world's first tiger census was done in Palamau forests in 1932. The country wide census conducted in 1972 showed alarming rate of decrease in its population. Thus, on the basis of census operation nine states were selected for the conservation of tiger. In the state of Bihar, the forests in the southern part of Palamau (Presently in Jharkhand) found to be suitable for tigers and consequently Palamau Tiger reserve was created in June 1972 (Mishra, 2001). 50 2.2 Why tiger and why Palamau? Tigers are the great "umbrella" species. To save the tiger, one has to protect the landscapes in which they live. By this, biodiversity and ecosystem functionality can be conserved along with the tiger (Mountfort, 1981). The present investigation takes tiger as a key species to assess the habitat parameters, model the habitat suitability and study the anthropogenic processes to identify the zones of conflict. The tiger has been chosen due to following reasons. • The population of tiger is now drastically decreasing. • All species of tigers are declared as critical or endangered by IUCN. • The Palamau Wildlife Sanctuary is having high diversity of flora and fauna. • Very few research works has been carried out in Palamau for tiger conservation. • High pressure of human being, causing the habitat loss of the tiger, needs a serious study on it. Palamau - An introduction Origin of name of Palamau dates back to different theories as mentioned in literature. L.R. Fobes settlement report of 1872 by Bridge, the word Palamau is derived from the Hindi word Palana, which means 'a place of refuge'. Another thought collected from D.H.E. Sunder Settlement Report, 1898 is that the name is combination of 'pala' meaning 'frost' and lmu', the patois root for 'dead', the whole meaning 'dead from frost', parts of the district being liable during the winter months to serve frost. Another opinion by Rev. F. J. Hahn is that Palamau is a Dravidian name and it may be a corruption of 'pall-ammu-u'. Pall meaning 'tooth', 'amm' (which when combined with another noun assumes the form am) meaning 'water', and u is a kind of genitive or possessive case meaning 'village', 'country', 'fortress', etc. In support of this theory, it may be mentioned that the name is spelt Palamau in the vernacular and was originally applied to the village, which was the seat of the Chero chiefs and in which their forts were built. These forts overlook the river Auranga and the bed of that river for some miles above and beyond the forts is studded with rocks. When these are in 51 flood, they look like jagged teeth. The name may thus perhaps mean 'the place of the fanged river' (Roy Chaudhury, 1961). According to another opinion it is a combined form of Palas (Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub.) and Mahua (Madhuca longifolia (Koenig) Macbride var. latifolia (Roxb.) Chev.). During the flowering time of Palas, the whole area is covered with red flowers which is the peak summer season and gives the impression of a fire ball from a distance. In this area, Palas tree is extensively used as a host tree for 'Rangini' lac cultivation. The name also refers to the fort of the great tribal king 'Sri Medini Roy', situated inside the reserve in Betla. There are ruins of two forts situated at New Qila on a hillock and Old Qila on the bank of the river Auranga. According to the name of the king, the district is also named as Medininagar. 2.3 Location The Palamau tiger reserve is situated between latitudes 23° 25' and 23° 55' north and longitude 83° 50' and 84° 36' east (Fig 2.1). Total area of tiger reserve is 1026 km2. The PTR lies in Deccan Plateau, a province of Chotnagpur plateau (6D) of the Bio- geographic zone (Rodger and Panwar, 1988). The parts of area which falls in these three different districts are Latehar district 54.1 km2, Garhwa 156.05 km2 and Lohardaga 15.82 km2. Out of the total area of the reserve, 979.97 km2 is notified as Palamau Wildlife Sanctuary (as on 17.07.1976) and 226.32 km2 out of this is notified as Betla National Park (as on 22.01.1996). Mahuadanar Wolf Sanctuary is of 63 km2 notified in the year 1976 is also under the management of the Tiger Project Circle. At present The Palamau Tiger Reserve is divided into three zones viz., Buffer zone (813 km2), Core zone (213 km2), and Tourism zone (53.78 km2) (overlapping) (Fig 2.1). The forest of PTR now forms part of the two forest Divisions namely Project Tiger Division and Dalonganj South Division. The Project tiger Division includes Betla Range, Chhipadohar east range, Chhipadohar west range and Kutku Range. The area of this division is 575 km2. The Daltonganj South East Division includes Garu east Range, Garu west Range and Mahuadanr range. The area of Daltengaj South Division spreads over 730 km2. Some parts of the Mahuadanar are outside the Tiger Reserve. 52 I I to £ O.OSA'C o c o « rr o 5 fe I- ft.U,J».fC 2.4 Topography Topographically the area falls under undulating tracks in association with some steep slopes, low hills and flat lands. The altitude of the PTR ranges from 100m -1140m from above Mean Sea Level. The hill system of this area consists of a series of parallel ridges running east and west, pierced by the Koel river. Important hills are Murhar, Neterhat, Huluk and Gulgul (1140 m) in the western and southern part of die PTR which extends up to the border of Chhattisgarh. There are a number of hills extending from Garu to Hulluk and in between Garu and Latoo village. Quite a few hills facing in the southern part of the reserve are very steep. The Northern part of the reserve is comparatively less hilly and hill slopes are also easy. 2.5 Physiography, soil, geology and rock Physiographically, the area can be divided into three major units viz., hill and escarpment zone, piedmont plain and alluvial plain. The soils on the hills and escarpments are mostly shallow; where as in depressions/valleys are deep to very deep. The soils in the piedmont plain zone range from moderately deep to very deep following toposequence. The soils in alluvial plain are silt and clay soils (Gupta et ai, 1998). The general soil types in the study area are murmu, sandy, alluvial, and sandy loamy (Ghosh, 2002). The geological formation of die PTR is mainly gneiss. The gneiss layer is of varied constitution and includes granite, hornblende and calcareous gneiss associated with limestone. The Talchir, Mahadeva and Barakar groups composed of sandstones and shales represent the Gondwana formation. The rocks of this region can be classified into the following main groups I Laterite- The minerals are Laterite and bauxite. II Quartzite- Quartzite, microline, epidosite, biotite schist, diopsidite, pegmatite, biotite hillimaniteschist. III Gneiss- Horneblende-granulite, horneblende-gneiss, diopsidite, biotite gneiss, microcline and quartzaplite, horneblende-biotite gneiss, magnetetite, tufa, olivine, epidosite and pegmatite. 54 IV Amphibolite- Amphibolite, pyroxene granulite, hypersthena gneiss, homeblende granulite and quartz. V Gondwana- Brakar and Mahadeva sandstones, grits, shales, hemaitie, conglomerate. VI Alluvial- An alluvial deposit is an accumulation of alluvium (sediment), sometimes containing valuable ore and gemstones, or simply consisting of gravel, sand, or clay, in the bed or former bed of a river (Mishra, 2001). 2.6 Minerals The mineral constituent of this area is mainly coal. This is available in different places of Palamau district, namely, the Auranga, Hutar and Daltonganj coal fields. Except coal other minerals are bauxite, iron - ore, dolomite and limestone, graphite, mica, feldspars, fire - clays, lead and mineral water. 2.7 Drainage The general drainage line is from south to north. The main rivers are Koel and its tributaries. Koel river has three tributaries namely Auranga, Burha and Pandra, all of which pass through the reserve. All these rivers are perennial.