Spread over an area of 898 sq. kilometers, Valmiki Nagar Forest, previously known as ‘Bhainsa Lotan’ was declared a Wildlife sanctuary in 1978. In 1990, it was turned into a national park. As per the locals, the forest was under the Bettiah and Ramnagar Raj untill 1950’s which led to the hunting of tigers and their numbers falling rapidly.  With the declaration of the forest as the tiger reserve, the conservation efforts began. Until 2018, there were around 40 tigers in the reserve and their numbers have been growing with each passing year.…