Panna, Madhya Pradesh

Presently there are 64 tigers, including cubs, roaming the Panna Tiger Reserve, and the numbers are growing. This was revealed on July 13, in a mid-term review titled, Future projection of tiger population in Panna Tiger Reserve, jointly written by Uttam Kumar Sharma, field director of the reserve, and deputy director, Jarande Ishwar R.

Also Read: The unusual story of Tiger ‘P212’ who was tranquilised eight times to keep him safe

In the year 2009, the forests in Madhya Pradesh were nearly devoid of any tigers. In order to save the animals from extinction, and repopulate the forests with tigers, a tiger resettlement programme was launched. The initiative, which was executed with great efficiency, was a huge success and in a short span of time, tigers once again populated Panna’s forests.

The forest area at Panna, that falls in Chattarpur and Damoh districts of Madhya Pradesh, is spread over 1,598 square kilometres. The core forest area occupies 576 square kilometres while the buffer zone is spread over 1022 square kilometres.

Also Read: Operation Durga Vahini to capture and move a tigress and her cub from Kerwa

The repopulation of tigers in Panna Tiger Reserve has received global acknowledgment. In their joint report, the director and the deputy director of the park stated that at present, there are 12 tigresses that are breeding at the tiger reserve.

By the end of 2021, four more tigresses may add to this number taking the total to 16 tigresses that may breed. The mid-term review also stated that in one year, 12 breeding tigresses gave birth to 16 cubs.

Of the listed 29 tigresses in the tiger reserve, one of them, P-213 (32) died, leaving behind four cubs. In an amazing development, the cubs are being looked after by the tiger (P-243) who sired them.

Also Read: Tiger Dad wins custody of his cubs at Panna Tiger Reserve

After a thorough review of the birth and death of the tigers in the reserve, according to the authorities there, this year (January -June 2021), there has been an attrition of seven tigers including cubs. This means that the tigers have either died or presumed to have moved away from the reserve.

According to the management of the Panna Tiger Reserve, by the end of 2021, the number of tigers in the park could increase from 64 to 78. 

Read the story in Hindi.