Madhya Pradesh records a steady rise in its tiger and leopard population
According to Tiger Conservation Initiatives , a report recently published by the Madhya Pradesh (MP) forest department, the number of tigers in the state with the country's largest forest area has risen to 927 from 912 during the last four years. The leopard population, too, has recorded a growth from 1,700 in 1993 to 1,851 in 1997. There have been minimal cases of poaching in Kanha national park, with only two cases of leopard and chital poaching reported last year, the report claims.
The 1997 estimates reveal that of the 927 tigers -- 25 per cent of India's tiger population and 22 per cent of the world's total tiger population -- there are 226 in the state's five tiger reserves; 229 in the protected areas, and 427 in general forest areas. Ten national parks and 19 sanctuaries of the state have a tiger population. The Kuno sanctuary is currently undergoing upgradation for reintroducing lions.
Of the five Project Tiger reserves, Kanha has 114 tigers and 86 leopards; Bandhavgarh has 46 tigers and 27 leopards; Pench -- 29 tigers and 21 leopards; Indravati -- 15 tigers and 26 leopards; and Panna -- 22 tigers and 31 leopards.
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