MP News: Forest Department Clueless, 2 Tigers Spotted Near Water and Land Management Institute

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Even as a video purportedly showing the movement of two tigers near WALMI (Water and Land Management Institute) went viral on Friday, the forest department did not know of the feline movement. 

The video of both the big cats crossing the road was filmed by retired forest officer R.K. Dixit, who posted it on his social media account. While District Forest Officer Lokpriya Bharti said that he was not aware of any such incident, he assured that as of now, there are abundant water sources in the jungle, hence, the tigers are likely remaining inside and not venturing out. 

Wildlife activist Rashid Noor said that though tiger movement has been reported in the WALMI area for the last three days, it is away from the residential quarters of the institute.

Notably, the Ratapani Tiger Reserve is close to Bhopal city, and often, tigers move from there towards the Kaliyasot jungle area. They even venture near the educational institutions close to the Kerwa jungle.

The Samardha range has a good presence of tigers. In 2018, the movement of around 40 tigers was reported from this particular area. Likewise, Kaliasot is also frequented by tigers, particularly in the summer season. There, also, the movement of a dozen tigers was reported long ago. 

[Story by Staff Reporter]