Indore News: Tiger Panic Near Umrikheda Turns Out False As State Gears Up For Tiger Census

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Even as Madhya Pradesh’s forest staff underwent specialised training for the upcoming nationwide tiger census, a brief panic erupted in Indore on Thursday after reports of a tiger sighting near Umrikheda, behind a private college, spread across the area.

Forest officials, including DFO Pramod Mishra and ranger Sangeeta Thakur, rushed to the site to verify the sighting after a photo claiming to show a tiger went viral. However, it was soon discovered that the image was actually a still taken from an old Ratapani waterfall video, confirming that it was a false alarm.

On one hand, forest officials and field staff were engaged in intensive training sessions to refine their skills for accurate tiger tracking and population estimation. On the other, teams were scrambling through Umrikheda’s outskirts to trace a tiger that never existed—an ironic twist highlighting both the vigilance and challenges of wildlife monitoring.

The two-day training programme at Ralamandal Wildlife Sanctuary aimed to prepare participants for the nationwide tiger census scheduled for January 2026.

SDO Yohan Katara said the training focused on practical fieldwork and the use of modern technology. Participants were trained in carnivore sign surveys to identify pugmarks, scat, scrapes, and kills using GPS coordinates. Camera trap methodology was another major focus—staff learned to set up paired motion-sensor cameras to capture both sides of a tiger for stripe-pattern identification.

The session also covered data analysis, DNA sampling from scat, and 3D software tools to create digital models for distinguishing individual tigers. Standardised protocols were emphasised to ensure accuracy and consistency across all regions.

Madhya Pradesh, often called India’s tiger state, recorded 785 tigers in 2022, up from 526 in 2018, marking a rise of 259 in four years. Of these, 237 were found outside reserves, highlighting the need to monitor wildlife corridors and non-protected areas. India’s overall tiger population also rose from 2,967 in 2018 to around 3,167 in 2022.

While the Umrikheda incident turned out to be a misreport, it underscored how alert citizens and the forest department remain to any hint of tiger movement—proof that conservation awareness is growing as Madhya Pradesh prepares for its next big wildlife survey.