Rajasthan's wildlife sanctuaries come up regularly in the Rajasthan GK sections of state exams, and the questions on this page are built on the Rajasthan Forest Department's own protected-area list. The department records 26 wildlife sanctuaries alongside three national parks and five tiger reserves. They range from Desert National Park Sanctuary, spread over 3,162 sq km of Barmer and Jaisalmer, to Sajjangarh in Udaipur at about 5 sq km. Tal Chhapar in Churu is known for its blackbuck, Kumbhalgarh stretches across Rajsamand, Udaipur and Pali, and Dholpur holds three small sanctuaries — Kesarbagh, Van Vihar and Ramsagar. The questions also cover the distinctions examiners like to test: the difference between a sanctuary, a national park and a tiger reserve carrying the same name, and proposals still listed as under process, such as the Kumbhalgarh and Sariska national parks.
Q1
Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, known for blackbuck, is in which district of Rajasthan?
Explanation
Tal Chhapar Sanctuary lies in Sujangarh tehsil of Churu district, Rajasthan, covering about 7.19 sq km (719 hectares). It is a flat, open grassland in the Shekhawati belt and is best known for its large blackbuck population. In winter it draws Demoiselle cranes (locally kurjan), harriers and other migratory birds. For exams, note that Rajasthan's state animal (wild) is the chinkara, while Tal Chhapar is identified with the blackbuck.
Source: Forest Department, Government of Rajasthan — "National Parks and Sanctuaries in Rajasthan"
Q2
Arrange the three wildlife sanctuaries located in Dholpur district of Rajasthan in ascending order of area.
Explanation
The correct sequence is Kesarbagh at 14.76, Van Vihar at 25.60 and Ramsagar at 34.40 sq km. Dholpur is the only district in Rajasthan holding three wildlife sanctuaries entirely within its boundaries, and all three are small — together they come to 74.76 sq km, less than Shergarh in Baran alone at 81.67 sq km. Dholpur also appears among the five districts of National Ghariyal Sanctuary, so the name recurs across district-based questions. The three figures sit close enough together that inverting two of them is the standard error.
Consider the following statements about the tiger reserves recorded in the Rajasthan Forest Department's "Details of Protected Area" list.
I The list records five tiger reserves with a combined area of 5980.8876 sq km.
II Ramgarh Vishdhari appears in the list both as a tiger reserve and as a wildlife sanctuary, with different areas recorded against each.
III Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve is larger in area than Sariska Tiger Reserve.
Explanation
Rajasthan's five tiger reserves are Ranthambhore at 1530.23, Ramgarh Vishdhari at 1501.89, Sariska at 1213.34, Mukundara Hills at 1135.787 and Dholpur-Karauli at 599.6406 sq km, totalling 5980.8876. Statement III fails because Dholpur-Karauli is the smallest of the five, under half of Sariska. The lesson worth carrying is that one name can carry very different figures at different tiers: Ramgarh Vishdhari is 303.05 as a sanctuary but 1501.89 as a tiger reserve, and Mukundara Hills is 199.55 as a national park but 1135.787 as a tiger reserve. Mixing the tiers is the trap.
Assertion (A): Desert National Park Sanctuary is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Rajasthan.
Reason (R): It is the sanctuary spread over the greatest number of districts in the state.
Explanation
The assertion holds — at 3162 sq km, Desert National Park Sanctuary is the largest in Rajasthan, roughly five times Kailadevi at 676.82, which ranks second. The reason fails: it covers only two districts, Barmer and Jaisalmer, while National Ghariyal Sanctuary stretches across five districts on just 564.03 sq km. At the other extreme, Sajjangarh is the smallest sanctuary at 5.19 sq km, followed by Tal Chhapar at 7.19. District count and area are independent variables, and treating one as evidence of the other is precisely the reasoning error this question is built to catch.
According to the Rajasthan Forest Department's "Details of Protected Area" list, which of the following conservation reserve–district pairs is NOT correctly matched?
Explanation
Bisalpur Conservation Reserve is not in Bikaner — the reserve recorded against Bikaner is Jodbeed Gadhwala at 56.4662 sq km. The other three pairs are accurate: Gogelav in Nagaur at 3.58, Sundhamata across Jalor and Sirohi at 117.4892, and Baghdarrah in Udaipur at 3.6871 sq km. The department's list carries forty conservation reserves totalling 1871.829071 sq km. Nagaur holds Rotu alongside Gogelav, so a single district commonly carries more than one reserve, and Baran carries the most of any district in the list.
Consider the following statements about the "Under Process" category in the Rajasthan Forest Department's "Details of Protected Area" list.
I Sariska National Park is recorded in this category with an area of 400.1475 sq km.
II The proposed area of Kumbhalgarh National Park is greater than the currently recorded area of Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary.
III Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary in Bikaner falls in this category and does not appear in the list of notified sanctuaries.
Explanation
The Under Process category covers proposals still moving through notification rather than areas already declared. Statement II is wrong: Kumbhalgarh National Park is proposed at 462.05 sq km, less than the 610.53 sq km of Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary, because the proposed park is a selected portion carved from within the existing sanctuary. The same category holds Dholpur Sanctuary at 204.2611 and Sariska (A) Sanctuary at 3.01 sq km. Note that Sariska already functions as a tiger reserve and a sanctuary; only its national park status remains pending.
In the Rajasthan Forest Department's protected area list, what is the total recorded area of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries taken together, before overlap is deducted?
Explanation
The recorded total is 10075.4248 sq km, arrived at by adding 510.31 sq km of national parks to 9565.1148 sq km of sanctuaries. Deducting 330.85 sq km of overlap leaves a net 9744.5748 sq km. Three of the four options are genuine rows from the same list — the sanctuary sub-total, the net grand total and the recorded grand total — so memorising a single number is not enough here; the candidate has to know which row represents what. Rajasthan carries 3 national parks and 26 sanctuaries in this list.
Consider the following statements about the Sorsan and Beed Muhana conservation reserves as recorded in the Rajasthan Forest Department's "Details of Protected Area" list.
I Sorsan is recorded as three separate units, all of them in Baran district.
II Beed Muhana is recorded in two units, both in Jaipur district.
III Among the three Sorsan units, Sorsan-II has the largest area.
Explanation
Statement III fails: Sorsan-I is the largest of the three at 16.1073 sq km, ahead of Sorsan-II at 4.27 and Sorsan-III at just 0.7563 sq km. All three sit in Baran, which also carries Shahbad (189.3961), Shahabad Talheti (178.84), Banjh Amli (146.21) and Ramgarh (38.0864). Beed Muhana-A covers 2.0689 sq km and Beed Muhana-B only 0.1039 sq km, both in Jaipur. A single name split across numbered or lettered entries is a recurring feature of the departmental list — Jawai Bandh in Pali appears the same way — and candidates who treat each name as one reserve get the count wrong.
Consider the following statements about the national parks recorded in the Rajasthan Forest Department's "Details of Protected Area" list.
I Mukundra Hills National Park extends across both Kota and Chittorgarh districts.
II The area of Ranthambhore National Park is less than half the area of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve.
III The three national parks in the list total 510.31 sq km, of which Keoladeo is the largest.
Explanation
The 510.31 sq km total is right, but Keoladeo is the smallest of the three, not the largest, at 28.73 sq km in Bharatpur. The full set is Ranthambhore in Sawai Madhopur at 282.03, Mukundra Hills across Kota and Chittorgarh at 199.55, and Keoladeo at 28.73 sq km. Statement II holds because Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve covers 1530.23 sq km spread over four districts — Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Bundi and Tonk. Tier confusion is the standing trap here: the same Mukundra Hills name carries 199.55 sq km as a national park and 1135.79 sq km as a tiger reserve.
In which district of Rajasthan is Shergarh Wildlife Sanctuary located?
Explanation
Shergarh Sanctuary lies in Baran district and covers about 81.67 sq km. It sits in the plateau forest belt of south-eastern Rajasthan and is recorded in the Forest Department's protected area list.
Bhensrodgarh Wildlife Sanctuary of Rajasthan lies in which district?
Explanation
Bhensrodgarh covers about 201.40 sq km in Chittorgarh district. Chittorgarh carries a second sanctuary in the same departmental list, which makes it one of Rajasthan's notable sanctuary districts.
In which district of Rajasthan is Bassi Wildlife Sanctuary situated?
Explanation
Bassi Sanctuary lies in Chittorgarh district and extends over about 138.69 sq km. It is recorded as a separate entry in the Rajasthan Forest Department's protected area list.
Phulwari ki Naal Wildlife Sanctuary of Rajasthan is located in which district?
Explanation
Phulwari ki Naal covers about 511.41 sq km in Udaipur district, placing it among the larger sanctuaries of Rajasthan. Udaipur carries more than one sanctuary in the departmental list.
In which district of Rajasthan is Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary located?
Explanation
Sajjangarh Sanctuary lies in Udaipur district and covers about 5.19 sq km. Its notification is dated 17 February 1987, and the management plan records the area as 519.61 hectares.
Kesarbagh Wildlife Sanctuary of Rajasthan lies in which district?
Explanation
Kesarbagh Sanctuary is in Dholpur district and covers about 14.76 sq km. Dholpur is one of the Rajasthan districts carrying more than one sanctuary in the Forest Department list.
In which district of Rajasthan is Van Vihar Wildlife Sanctuary situated?
Explanation
Van Vihar Sanctuary covers about 25.60 sq km in Dholpur district. The same district anchors the Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve, one of the five tiger reserves recorded in the Forest Department list.
Ramsagar Wildlife Sanctuary of Rajasthan is located in which district?
Explanation
Ramsagar Sanctuary lies in Dholpur district and covers about 34.40 sq km. Dholpur is also one of the districts across which Rajasthan's National Gharial Sanctuary extends.
Across which districts does Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary of Rajasthan extend?
Explanation
Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary extends across Rajsamand, Udaipur and Pali districts and covers about 610.53 sq km. It is one of the Rajasthan sanctuaries spanning more than a single district.
Desert National Park Sanctuary of Rajasthan spreads over which two districts?
Explanation
Desert National Park Sanctuary spreads over Barmer and Jaisalmer districts and covers about 3162 sq km. Despite the words National Park in its name, the Forest Department list places it among sanctuaries.
How many wildlife sanctuaries are recorded in the Rajasthan Forest Department's protected area list?
Explanation
The list records 26 wildlife sanctuaries, alongside three national parks totalling 510.31 sq km. Both official Forest Department pages agree on the figure of 26.
According to the Rajasthan Forest Department's list, which sanctuary's entire recorded area falls under overlap, leaving its net area at zero?
Explanation
Sawai Madhopur Sanctuary records 131.30 sq km, and the same figure appears in the overlap column, so its net area works out to zero. The department records net area only after overlap is deducted.
Sariska is already both a tiger reserve and a wildlife sanctuary in the Rajasthan Forest Department's list; which status still sits in the Under Process category?
Explanation
A proposal for Sariska National Park sits in the Under Process category of the departmental list, while Sariska already functions as a tiger reserve of 1213.34 sq km and as a wildlife sanctuary.
The proposed Kumbhalgarh National Park in the Under Process category of the Rajasthan Forest Department's list is carved out of which existing protected area?
Explanation
The proposed Kumbhalgarh National Park covers about 462.05 sq km, a portion selected from within the 610.53 sq km Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary. In Rajasthan the proposal is still listed as under process.
Which of the following sanctuaries appears in the Under Process category of the Rajasthan Forest Department's protected area list?
Explanation
Dholpur Sanctuary, at about 204.26 sq km, appears in the Under Process category, as does Sariska (A) Sanctuary at 3.01 sq km. These entries are kept apart from Rajasthan's notified list.
In the Rajasthan Forest Department's list, what is deducted from the recorded area to arrive at the net area of protected areas?
Explanation
Where a sanctuary's area falls inside a national park or another sanctuary, that portion is deducted as overlap so it is not counted twice. In the Rajasthan list the overlap totals 330.85 sq km.
Across how many districts does the National Gharial Sanctuary of Rajasthan extend?
Explanation
The National Gharial Sanctuary extends across five districts of Rajasthan, Dholpur among them. It is one of the sanctuaries in the Forest Department list whose area spans more than one district.
In the Rajasthan Forest Department's list, an overlap area is recorded against which of the following sanctuaries?
Explanation
Darrah Sanctuary carries an overlap of 156.32 sq km, leaving a net area of 71.31 sq km. Jawahar Sagar is another Rajasthan sanctuary for which the list records an overlap figure.