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
Tiger population in India is going up with shrinking forest cover that provides shelter to the big cats. This coupled with increasing human dependence on forests is leading to a serious issue -man animal conflict. On the International Tiger Day , ThewildlifeIndia raises the issue of rising graph of Human-Tiger conflict. Urban area around Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra is one such conflict zone with an alarming rise in the cases of clashes between big cats and villagers. In places like Brahmpuri, as many as 6 lakh people are vying for space in the presence of large tiger population. Presence of breeding big cats in a thermal power station and a coalmine operating right on the edge of TATR have made the matter worse. The situation has reached a flash point and an immediate intervention with strong political will is required to maintain harmony. 100 Tigers, Fragmented Forest And Human Pressure Why is there an element of urgency for intervention? A forest depar