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...
Beautiful images with good news have come out from the emerald forests of Panna, perhaps the most talked about national park of the country. After the news of the birth of four more tiger cubs, Panna has come alive again. Though it is a common sight in national parks, sightings of a newly born tiger always assumes greater significance to the park that had seen it's entire tiger population decimated by poaching barely 12 years ago. This was followed by the translocation of three tigers from Kanha,Bandhavgarh and Pench national parks. Since then, there has been no looking back and Panna has been seen as the only successful tiger reintroduction model in the world.
Also Read: From Unknown Tigress of Kanha to Mother of Panna:The Untold Story of T2
So the park authorities were jubilant after beginning of the new year when a camera trap captured the images of a tigress -coded as P213(31) -clutching delicately in her jaws one of the four cubs while moving in the woods to shift it to a safer place. Born about 2 to 3 months ago, there are four cubs in the litter. This is the second litter of the tigress. Now the tiger population in the park has gone up to 65-70 which includes about 20 cubs, the park authorities said. Just like human infants, tiger cubs need their mother to take care of them. In fact, the cub’s mom needs to be even more careful and protective in the jungle. Tiger cubs can't see anything when they come into the world because their eyes are closed .It takes about two weeks before they open their eyes and see their mother. And as small as they are, tiger cubs are born with all their stripes. Though they spread out as they grow, they don't change. Just like no one else has your fingerprints and no two giraffes have the same spot pattern, no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes, either.
GPS Collaring Programme Continues
As the number of tigers goes up, the core area ,spread over 576 sq kms ,looks smaller for the increasing number of the big cats. There are about 30 tigers in the core alone. Besides, the remaining tigers are roaming around the buffer and outside the park in the Panna landscape. So successful was the tiger reintroduction plan of Panna that Cambodia has decided to emulate the Panna plan to reintroduce tigers in it's jungles. The South-Asian nation lost all it's tiger population and the last tiger was sighted in 2007. A camera trap image of the tiger was captured in the Eastern plains dry forest landscape in Mondulkiri protected forest. Cambodia currently has no population of breeding tigers and plans to reintroduce tigers in Mondulkiri protected forest area. In November 2017 a Cambodian delegation comprising top politicians, forest and tourism officials visited Panna to understand the plan. This was the second visit of Cambodian delegation to Panna after 2015.
Also Read: Panna landscape Needs 2 More National Parks, NotSatellite Tiger Collaring
When Panna was basking in the glory of it's successful tiger reintroduction programme, a new threat in the form of Ken Betwa Link (KBL) project started staring at it. As the sword of KBL continues to hang over it, the authorities began a new project of satellite GPS collaring of 14 tigers as a part of the landscape management plan before the drowning of the jungle .The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is executing the project with the help of the park authorities. So far two tigers have been collared . The last one was P234 (31) in the first week of January.
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