The iconic male tiger, admired by thousands of tourists and feared by rivals, reportedly died after a fierce clash in the Khitauli range. Bandhavgarh National Park has lost one of its most recognizable and beloved tigers. Pujari (priest in English) , the majestic male who ruled hearts as much as territories , is believed to have died following a violent territorial clash with D1, another dominant male from the Khitauli range. Tourist guides noticed his sun-salutation poses at water bodies and a priest like calm in the cat, giving him the moniker. For wildlife lovers and regular visitors to Bandhavgarh, the news marks the end of an unforgettable chapter in the park’s rich tiger history. Several WhatsApp groups of tourists, guides, and wildlife enthusiasts have been flooded with tributes to the iconic tiger. While many stories circulating after Pujari’s death may not fully conform to scientific wildlife interpretations, they reflect the immense popularity of the big cat and t...
It’s a tragic story of a beautiful breeding tigress. Four years ago, the tigress was sent from Bandhavgarh national park in Madhya Pradesh (MP) to Satkosia tiger reserve in Odisha along with a male tiger to revive the population of big cats. But apparent mishandling of the first ever interstate tiger relocation programme ended up in poaching of the male tiger named Mahaveer. Sundari, the tigress, landed up in a cage in Odisha where she languished for three years. While she was being shifted from one enclosure to another, the governments of MP and Odisha were engaged in bureaucratic procedures and passing the buck. Sundari, now about 8 year of age, is condemned to a smaller enclosure of 10000 sq feet in Van Vihar , an open zoo and rescue centre in the state capital of MP where she would spend the rest of her life. It is believed that the inter-state project was launched without proper preparations. The officials in Odisha also did not ascertain the reasons for declining tig...