Context: 

Forest officials from the Palamau Tiger Reserve have informed the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) that Naxal insurgency is negatively impacting the reserve.

Background: 

1. Left-wing extremism and security personnel movements inside Palamau Tiger Reserve have reduced prey availability, causing tigers to move to neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
2. The reserve has faced extremism issues since the 1990s. Recruitment of staff has been pending since then, with over 60% of positions, including forest guards, vacant.

About Palamau Tiger Reserve:

1. Location: Situated in the Latehar district of Jharkhand.
2. It is the only Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand state.
3. The reserve covers an area of approximately 1,129.93 square kilometers, including the core area of Betla National Park and the Palamau Wildlife Sanctuary.
4. Established: It was one of the first nine tiger reserves established in India under Project Tiger in 1973.
5. Geography: The reserve lies within the Chota Nagpur Plateau and is known for its rich biodiversity, including dry deciduous and tropical forests.
6. Palamau Tiger Reserve is drought-prone area due to rain-shadow effect. Most of the rainfall is received from the southwest monsoon.
7. Fauna: The keystone species are Tigers, Elephants, Leopards, Grey Wolf, Gaur, Sloth Bear, Four- horned Antelope, Indian Ratel, Indian Otter and Indian Pangolin.