Places in News 25th October 2025

Kali Tiger Reserve

Context: When the foresters of Kali Tiger Reserve at Dandeli in the Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, witnessed and took note of a striped hyena (locally known as katte kiruba), they were up for a surprise.

• Location: Kali Tiger Reserve  is located in Karnataka, Uttara Kannada district.
  • It covers an area of 834.16 sq.km.
  • It consists of Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and Anshi National Park.
  • These two are adjacent to one another and make up one tract of the protected area found in the biologically sensitive Western Ghats.
• River: It is the Kali River which forms the largest source of water in Uttara Kannad and passes through the tiger reserve and so the name.
• Vegetation: It is a combination of semi- evergreen and moist deciduous forests with some areas of bamboo and grasslands.
• Flora: The reserve is very diverse with plant species such as teak, silver oak, eucalyptus, and other medicinal plants.
• Fauna:
  • The Tiger Reserve has animals such as Tiger, Leopard, Elephant, Bison, Wild dog, Sambar, Spotted deer, Sloth bear, Wild boar, Hanuman langur, Bonnet macaque etc.
  • The region has one of the largest populations of Great Indian Hornbills in Western Ghats.

Konark-Balukhand sanctuary

Context: The spotted deer which used to be the pride of the Konark-Balukhand Wildlife Sanctuary seem to be reducing rapidly in number.

• Location: It is in the district of Puri, Odisha.
• • On 23 April 1984 it was proclaimed a sanctuary.
  • It was built on the sandy piece of land that was covered by casuarina and cashew plantation and it was found along the coast between Puri and Konark.
• Rivers: It is crossed by the rivulets like Nuanai River, Kusabhadra River, Kadua River and Prachi River.
• Flora: There is also flora of jamun, ficus, neem, karanj and polang trees, and is found mainly along the course of the Kusabhadra and Nuanai rivers.
• Fauna: It is a habitat of herbivores (spotted deer), monkeys, jungle cat, hyena, monitor lizard, snakes, etc.
  • The Olive Ridley sea turtles have been observed nesting on the beach. 

Tuvalu

Context: The Government of Tuvalu has recently formally joined the 90th State Member of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) formally.

• Location: Tuvalu, which was once referred to as the Ellice Islands, is a country that is an island within the west-central Pacific Ocean.
  • It is the 4th smallest nation in the world with 26 sq. km. of land.
  • It is positioned half way between Australia and Hawaii.
  • It borders Kiribati, to the north, and Fiji, to the south.
• Geography: It is a group of tiny islands and atolls whose major constituent materials are coral reefs and volcanic rock.
  • The islands are all low lying and there is no single point on Tuvalu that exceeds 4.5 m above sea level. Therefore, future rise of the sea level is a threat to the islands.
  • There are no rivers. Tuvalu has a rainy and hot climate.
  • There are only a handful of people of any other independent state compared to the Vatican City, which is the smallest and least populated state.
• Capital: Funafuti
• Language: the majority of the population speaks a language known as Tuvaluan. English is widely used.
• Currencies: Tuvalu dollar (equivalent to the Australian dollar)
• Political System:
  • In October 1978, Tuvalu gained independence over the United Kingdom.

Rakchham Chitkul Wildlife Sanctuary

Context: A bird-watching programme was held recently at the picturesque Rakchham region of the Rakchham-Chitkul Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh.

• Location: It is situated in the Kinnaur district in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
  • It is distributed on 30.98 sq.km.
  • It lies between 3200 and 5486 meters above sea level.
  • It belongs to the Western Himalaya range.
  • It is enclosed by snow-white mountains, green valleys and flowing rivers.
  • The many trekking routes that go through this sanctuary include the dangerous Lamkhanga Pass.
  • The pass links Uttarakhand of Gangotri and the province of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh.
  • The sanctuary is in a dry zone unlike that of other Himachal Pradesh sanctuaries, hence it lacks monsoons.
• Flora: Rhododendrons and oak trees, pine trees, and medicinal herbs are some of the common flora in the sanctuary.
• Fauna: It is also a habitat of several types of wildlife including snow leopard, Himalayan black bear, musk deer, and many species of birds.

Gulf of Kutch

Context: A recent report indicated that the long life survival of dugongs in the Gulf of Kutch and Andaman and Nicobar Islands is very questionable or difficult.

• Location: The Gulf of Kutch is a branch of the Arabian Sea.
  • It is situated on the west bank of the Indian coast, in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat.
  • It separates the regions of Gujarat, Kutch and Kathiawar peninsula.
  • It is a 99 mile stretch and is known by coral reefs which circle the 32 islands.
• Feature: Another characteristic of this area is that it has the tidal range that creates fast currents of approximately 2.5 m per second.
  • It is a place that has the greatest potential of tidal energy production.
  • It is bordered with mudflats and there are numerous small islands which emerge out of its waters.
  • The Gulf of Kutch, which covers 7300 sq.km. is biologically one of the most productive and diverse habitats in the west coast of India.
  • There are many islands and inlets of the southern shore that support huge aquatic mangrove and coral reefs that contain living corals.
  • Large stretches of mangroves are also supported by the northern shore having numerous shoals and creeks.
  • The western end of the Gulf is a great system of marshlands interlaced with countless creeks.

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