Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh got the status of Tiger State by occupying the top place with 526 tigers in the tiger census conducted three years ago at all India level. According to the preliminary indications of the census to be conducted this year, there is a strong possibility of Madhya Pradesh getting recognition as Tiger State this time also.
Madhya Pradesh has held the tag of Tiger State in the last decade except in the census of the year 2010 and 2014 when the state of Karnataka remained at top place with maximum tigers.
Achieved this position due to many innovations
The state government carried out several innovations to ensure wildlife conservation, due to which Madhya Pradesh became the foundation stone of the process of Tiger State. In the last one and a half decade, 167 villages from protected areas were rehabilitated at suitable places to provide habitat for tigers and other wild animals. More than 15 thousand family units living with minimum facilities under inaccessible forest areas were brought out of the forests and settled in village-towns. As a result, wild animals got a free habitat without any disturbance. Along with this, the financial condition of the forest dwellers also improved. In all these innovations, an amount of Rs 900 crore was made available by the state government.
Tigers are found apart from tiger reserves
The tigers of the state are found not only in the Tiger Reserves but are also found roaming like other animals in other regional forest divisions even in the limits of big cities like Bhopal. In the year 2018, the tigers had become extinct in Panna. An active initiative was taken by the Forest Department for tiger conservation, in which tigers were brought from other protected areas and resettled in Panna Tiger Reserve. Due to the continuous efforts of the last 9 years, today Panna Tiger Reserve has returned to its old glory. More than 20 adult tigers and 15 sub adult tigers/cubs are present here. Around 50 tigers including cubs are available in the entire Panna landscape.
Got fame as Ghorela model
In the year 2005-06, a new initiative to release the abandoned orphan cubs in their natural habitat was started in the state. Due to this the orphaned tiger cubs reach the zoo. It was possible to release them into their natural habitat as soon as they became adults. In the Ghorela enclosure of Kanha Tiger Reserve, 9 tiger cubs have been released after they turned adult. This success of the state has got fame all over the world as “Ghorela” model.
This is how tigers are counted in three phases
Tiger census in India is done every 4 years. It has three stages. In the first phase, the data of tigers, other carnivorous and large herbivorous animals, ie their claw prints, their droppings, scratch marks and the hunts made by them etc. are collected. This tiger assessment is called “Phase One”. This process lasts for a week. Forest employees visit the forests on these seven days to mark the presence of wild animals for the first three days and for the next three days their numbers are collected through the direct presence of wild animals.
In the second phase, tiger assessment is done by scientists in laboratories. Scientists collect data about the status of the tiger’s habitat area by studying the data collected by satellite.
In the third phase, pictures of the presence of tigers are taken by camera trapping. Statistical analysis of the data and evidence found in these three phases is used to estimate the number of tigers in an area.
In the All India Tiger Census, the census work is done in about 30 thousand beats all over India. In this, 9 thousand beats are present only in Madhya Pradesh. This is a very labor intensive and extensive task. Accepting this challenge, the State Forest Department started carrying out its preparations from the year 2017. Under this, several stages of forest guards were organized and they were made capable of it. In this way, the difficult work is calculated in an efficient manner.
Tiger is a unique wild animal
The tiger is known to be a fearsome and powerful animal. Its roar and growl are terrifying as well as intimidating. Its roar is heard up to a range of 3 km. The hind legs of a tiger are longer compared to the front legs. With this, it can jump 20 to 30 feet at a time. The lower part of the legs of the tiger is padded. Because of this, it quietly reaches close to the victim. The tiger has the ability to run at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour.
The specialty of the tiger is that it lives alone and not in a group. Males and females assemble during the breeding season. After the cub is born, it stays with its mother for one and a half to two years and becomes proficient in the art of hunting. The tiger hunts in a clever and agile way and more often during the night. It is well known that it attacks the prey suddenly from behind by ambushing in the bushes. Due to the stripes on the body, it mixes easily in the bushes. It targets the prey by its neck.
Tigers are found in Tiger Reserve areas
Kanha Tiger became the first tiger reserve of the state in 1973. At present there are 6 tiger reserves in the state. Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Sanjay Tiger Reserve, Panna, Satpura and Pench have been designated as Tiger Reserves. The largest of these is the Satpura Tiger Reserve and the smallest is the Pench Tiger Reserve.
Among the sanctuaries are Pachmarhi, Panpatha, Bori, Pench-Mowgli, Gangau, Sanjay-Dubari, Bagdara, Sailana, Gandhi Sagar, Karera, Nauradehi, National Chambal, Ken, Narsihgarh, Ratapani, Singhori, Seoni, Sardarpur, Ralamandal, Ken Gharial , Ghatigaon, Son Chiriya Sanctuary, Orchha and Veerangana Durgavati Sanctuary.
Comments are closed.