Madhya Pradesh: 15 Tigers Sighted Near Bhopal-Raisen Belt
The region was tigerless four years ago, as per the 2022 tiger census report.
Bhopal: Movement of 15 tigers have been recorded in the Bhopal-Raisen border adjoining Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary here, indicating a significant habitat improvement, a forest officer said on Sunday.
The region was tigerless four years ago, as per the 2022 tiger census report.
“Tigers migrated to the region from other parts of the state and a majority of the migrated tigers have established their territories in the border of Bhopal-Raisen districts, adjoining the Ratapani Tiger Reserve”, the forest officer said.
According to the forest officer, an injured tiger from Mhow in Indore district had earlier migrated to the region and mated with a tigress, leading to the birth of three cubs recently.
The migration of the big cats to the region takes place through two tiger corridors- Ratapani- Sagar- Nauradehi and Ratapani- Sheoni.
A study on the tiger breeding and number of tigers in the two tiger corridors is on anvil, according to Bhopal forest circle chief conservator of forest (CCF) Khitij Kumar.
The key reason for the Bhopal-Raisen border turning into a tiger habitat is due to the declaration of Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve a year ago, a forest officer said.
Bhopal is the only state capital in the country where tigers are frequently sighted in its border areas, earning the big cats the tag of ‘urban tigers’.
Ratapani Tiger Reserve, situated in the vicinity of Bhopal city, houses an estimated 86 tigers.