The sprawling tiger landscape of Bhopal may not have been a designated national park or a sanctuary but the woody city surroundings have been buzzing with wildlife activities, denied and disregarded by the state forest department. There is a tiger love story unfolding in the forest, a tigress with four cubs and reports of atleast two pregnant tigresses. The tigers are multiplying on the city outskirts and so are the worries of the department. The Love Story A large contiguous forest area spread over about 150 sq square kms in the jungles around two famous dams- Kolar and Kerwa- is now home of atleast 10 adult felines. They are resident tigers of Bhopal- born and brought up in the city jungle and termed as the urban tigers. In fact the tiger landscape is spread beyond these two dams over a vast swathe of forest. If we calculate the area from the boundary of Ratapani sanctuary to Kewa , it is 200 sq kms of forest area . In fact, Bhopal's tiger landscape is a pa
When Panna was included as the 12th Biosphere Reserve (BR), it was yet another recognition to its critical tiger reserve facing threat from a river linking project and Bunelkhand’s unique ecosystem. “UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme today (October 29) included Panna in India and Fuvahmulah and Addu Atoll (both islands) in the Maldives, to UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves'', the UNESCO website said. Sustainability: Hope for the Planets If we can make sustainability work at a local level, and scientifically document how it works, perhaps there is hope for the planet. That is the task UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB) was given by its Member States 49 years ago, ’the website quoted ,Guy Broucke, head of Natural Sciences, UNESCO New Delhi. Introducing Panna as the new BR, the UNESCO said “Located in the centre of India, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Panna is characterized by forests and marshy vegetation, with an abundance of rare medi