With 785 big cats, Madhya Pradesh retains its spot as ‘tiger state of India’

Madhya Pradesh has retained its tag of the ‘tiger state’ having accounted for 785 big cats, according to a census released on Saturday on International Tiger Day Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand. (Representative Photo) The population of tigers increased 49% in the state, which is the highest in India despite recording the maximum number of deaths. Between 2012 to 2022, 278 tiger deaths were reported in Madhya Pradesh. As per the census report, in Madhya Pradesh, 563 tigers were found in six tiger reserves while 222 were found outside the protected areas. In 2018, Madhya Pradesh accounted for 526 tigers, only two more than Karnataka. “We took care of the tigers and keep track of every single one,” said JS Chauhan, Indian Forst Services (IFS) officer and former chief wildlife warden. Also Read: Uttarakhand: Tigress found dead in Dhela zone of Corbett Tiger Reserve “We shifted more than 300 villages to create space for tigers. We created awareness among villagers and that’s why MP has less number of human-animal conflicts,” said Chauhan. “We have also maintained transparency in recording tiger deaths. The increase in the population (of tigers) here is according to nature. Every year in MP around 150 cubs are born,” he added. On International Tiger Day, with 165 tigers, the highest number of tigers was recorded in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve making it the fourth highest in India after Jim Corbet, Bandipur and Nagarhole. Chief miner Shivraj Singh Chouhan congratulated the forest team for achieving the landmark. “It is a matter of great pleasure that as a result of the cooperation of the people of our state and the untiring efforts of the forest department, the number of tigers in our state has increased from 526 to 785 in four years,” he said. “Let us all together take a pledge to conserve nature for future generations on the occasion of International Tiger Day,” the chief miner said. Wildlife activ Ajay Dubey said, “The growth in the number of tigers will also increase the responsibility of NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) and Tiger Range States, in which it is most important to stop poaching and wild man conflict. A wildlife crime control bureau will have to be formed at the state level.” Five states have reported a decline in tiger population compared to the 2018 tiger census: Andhra Pradesh has reported a decline in tiger numbers from 29 (in 2018) to 9 (in 2022) Telangana has reported a decline in tiger numbers from 26 (in 2018) to 21(in 2022) Chhattisgarh has reported a decline in tiger numbers from 19 (in 2018) to 17 (in 2022) Jharkhand has reported a decline in tiger numbers from 5 (in 2018) to 1 (in 2022) Odisha has reported a decline in tiger numbers from 28 (in 2018) to 20 (in 2022) ABOUT THE AUTHOR She is a senior reporter based at Bhopal. She covers higher education, social issues, youth affairs, woman and child development related issues, sports and business & industries. …view detail