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Showing posts with the label Tiger Conservation

End of an Era In Bandhavgarh: Tiger Pujari Killed In Territorial Battle With D1

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...

Sonewani Tiger Tragedy, Cover-Ups Erode the Tiger State Tag

A shocking case in Madhya Pradesh exposes negligence, illegal cremation, and absconding forest staff - raising doubts over tiger conservation efforts .  Madhya Pradesh which never misses a chance to flaunt its title as the “Tiger State of India,” now finds itself under a cloud of suspicion and criticism. A recent incident in the Sonewani Conservation Reserve of Balaghat  has revealed not only negligence but what appears to be a deliberate cover-up by the very people entrusted with safeguarding the state’s most iconic species. In July, a tiger was found dead in the reserve,but instead of following mandatory procedures, it was allegedly burnt without informing senior forest officers. The matter only came to light when photographs of the cremation surfaced in a WhatsApp group  on August 2 2025. By then, critical evidence was already destroyed. Also read :  Ken Betwa Project : Plan to Massacre Millions of Trees Give Goosebumps The revelation triggered outrage,leading to...

Tiger Parts Seizure in Assam Shows Unprotected Areas Are Poachers' Paradise

Recent seizure of bones and skin of a tiger in Assam leading to arrest of poachers and a  tiger part trader ,former employee of the Wildlife wing  of Delhi forest department ,should be a wake up call for the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) . Body parts of the tiger  from Chandrapur -Gadchiroli districts in Maharashtra were confiscated   more than 2000 kms away in Assam in the last week of June. Poachers killed the tiger outside protected area of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve ( TATR ) , skinned it and  placed the bones in a sack. Almost 40% of  India's tigers – more than 1000-live outside the protected area and the region where the Maharashtra tiger was killed is considered as a conflict zone with large cases of man tiger conflict. People here just hate tigers. Hunted and Hounded, The Tiger Runs for Life This episode, an eye opener for the investigating agencies, has all the elements which pose serious threat   to the survival of t...

Tiger Reserves In Waiting : Tale of Mhadei and Ratapani Sanctuaries

   On July 24, the Goa bench of Bombay High Court took the help of an ancient Indian epic Mahabharata to explain  the state government the importance of  the tiger . “If there is no forest, then the tiger gets killed; if there is no tiger, then the forest gets destroyed. Hence, the tiger protects the forest, and the forest guards the tiger!” The court cited the epic  while directing the government to notify the 208 sq. km Mhadei wildlife sanctuary and its surrounding areas as a tiger reserve, and issue a notification within three months.  But the state government of this popular tourist destination has decided to challenge it in the Supreme Court. Over 1200 kms away from Goa, Ratapani sanctuary  in Madhya Pradesh has been awaiting  tiger reserve status for the last one and half decade.  In 2022, six tigers were recorded in Goa, an important tiger corridor in the Western Ghats where the big cat numbers are on decline. Against the six tigers in...

A Tiger Procession in Ranthambhore

  A video of tiger sighting  going viral on social media and shot in   Ranthambhore national park with  200 to 300 tourists following the cat in canters and gypsies stunned the wildlife lovers. Despite the presence of a large tourist crowd the tiger was walking down the dusty pathway of the park – unimpressed and undeterred. A senior wildlife official termed it an “unpleasant sight” and “disgusting to say the least''. For the tourists, the tiger  here seems to have become an object of entertainment while for the tourist operators and the forest department, a revenue generating commodity. The conservation aspect seems to be missing somewhere. Tiger Sandwitched Between Tourist Vehicles    There were at least seven canters and some gypsies full of tourists, behind the tiger -identified as T121- and as many vehicles in front of the cat moving in reverse direction. The tiger was sandwiched between the vehicles near a junction of zone number 4 and 5....

Tiger Takes Care of Injured Tigress & Cubs in Bhopal

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  sa...

Tiger In Chain, Arunachal Forest Minister Goes For Walk

 Close on the heels of the tiger census data released by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi showcasing the success of  tiger conservation , visuals of a tiger in a chain held by the Environment and forest minister of Arunachal Pradesh  shook the country.  The minister Mama Natung   walks the tiger  like a pet  .On April 16, he  also  twitted the  video  from his official twitter handle . He also posted the video with pride on his  facebook page. For record, tiger is listed in the scheduled one of the Wild Life (Protecton) Act 1972  and one can not have it as a pet .This Schedule deals with endangered species. Violation of Wildlife Protection Act   Interestingly, while tweeting the video , mama also tagged  the National Tiger Conservation Authority ( NTCA ) and  the Union ministry of Environment, forest  and climate change.  NTCA is the apex body for the protection and conservation of the ti...

50 Years After Project Tiger: New Challenges & the Road Ahead

India may boast a rise in its tiger numbers and is a reason to rejoice, the situation of the tiger habitat from one corner of the country to another is alarming. Though the Tiger Status report 2022 released by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi  quoted  the  figure of a minimum number of 3167  tigers ( up from 2976 in 2018 ), it also expressed concern over local extinction of tigers in some regions. There is a decrease in tiger numbers across the WesternGhats and it indeed is a matter of concern. No media has highlighted these issues mentioned in the same report. Tigers are increasing, so is the human population and the pressure on the forests . If the jungle corridors are not protected, we are headed in a direction when the tigers would be confined to small isolated patches of forests.   On Local Extinction Of Tigers & Decreasing Numbers In Western Ghats Dwelling in detail from one tiger landscape to another, the Tiger Status report raised the local tige...

Teeming With Tigers, India Needs To Manage Their Population

India is facing a serious 'problem of plenty'. Rising tiger population in many parts of the country is creating conflict zones. And the tiger- human clashes are going up, alarmingly in many landscapes. The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) needs to take initiatives to control the situation. Fifty years after the project tiger as India moves on from dwindling tiger population to surplus numbers of the big cats,  the nation needs an active tiger population management plan. As MoEFC&C yet to  become proactive, a team of  tiger catchers continue to carry out search operations for the past over five months to  capture a tigress with four cubs. The team members are  scanning Tadoba Andhari Tiger Landscape in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, grappling with the issue of over population of 250 tigers. As many as 53 people lost their lives in Chandrapur in 2022 in tiger attacks while 14 tigers have also died from January 2022 to January ...

No This Tiger Did Not Commit Suicide, Body Found Hanging Near Panna Tiger Reserve

  It is always disheartening to carry a picture of a dead tiger . This young  tiger was killed by poachers near Panna tiger reserve .  About four days after the death, body of this male tiger was found hanging from a tree from a clutch wire- used in motor bikes. The picture gives an impression as if the tiger committed suicide. This is the second such incident in the region. Around four years ago,  the body of a tiger was found hanging from a tree in the core area of the tiger reserve.  Poachers Are Active  On the cold December morning on Wednesday, the  forest  department officials in Panna and Chattarpur   received a message of  the tiger's death. As the investigations started by afternoon on December 7, officials of the Special Task Force, the Tiger Strike Force and  local police arrived at the scene. Sniffer dogs were deployed . We will update the story  whenever some development take place. The crime scene is located...