After a string of tiger deaths — 14 so far this year — good news from the forests of Madhya Pradesh. As many as 11tiger cubs have been sighted in the past week — five in Panna Tiger Reserve, and three each in Nauradehi and Ratapani sanctuaries.

In Nauradehi sanctuary, spread over Damoh and Sagar districts, forest staffs are cheering the first tiger births in years. It’s the first litter of Radha and Kishen, who were translocated from Kanhna and Bandhavgarh national parks. The furry trio was spotted prancing about on May 9, said officials. They are considered so precious that armed policemen have been posted nearby to protect them, say officials.

Radha and Kishen have been in the jungle for more than a year now. Before they were translocated, Nauradehi had not a single tiger. In Panna, two tigresses have given birth to five cubs. Collared tigress T-6 gave birth to two cubs while an uncollared tigress has given birth to three, said K S Bhadoria, field director of Panna. “We have 52 tigers in Panna now,” he said. The litters were spotted by the park’s patrol staff. The tigresses have kept the cubs deep within the dense forest areas, he said.

And in lush green Ratapani, barely 20km from Bhopal’s outer limits, forest officials have sighted three cubs near Obaidullaganj. There are already 20 tigers in the 824 sqkm Ratapani forest. More than half of it is covered with teak trees and the world heritage site Bhimbetka is on its periphery. Principal chief conservator forests (wildlife) U Prakasham said, “There are plans to boost park management and have more field staff in Ratapani.”

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) gave approval to turn Ratapani sanctuary into a tiger reserve in 2008, but the erstwhile BJP government refused to issue a notification for it.

Source: Times of India, 17 May 2019, Chennai.