AHMEDABAD: The tiger from Ratapani in MP, captured in forest department's cameras in Santrampur in Panchmahal district on February 12, has turned out to be a resident of Gujarat Forest officials confirmed that the tiger, which left MP in 2017, has been staying in the state for past few months, most probably since August 2018."The tiger is confirmed to be staying in the state since August last year. Post monsoon , we had zeroed in on a pugmark of a Big Cat after rain water receded in Lunawada forest area. The pugmark, which was preserved, has turned out to be a perfect match with the pugmarks taken of the tiger on February 12 as well February 15 night in the same region," said a senior forest official.Forest officials said that the tiger, which was spotted at Gadh village in the wee hours of Saturday, is also reported to be a male."Contrary to earlier reports that the tiger may be a female with cubs, the pugmarks taken from the site reveal that in all probability it is a male tiger," said another senior forest official.Officials said that pugmarks are deep, indicating it to be of a male tiger. "Male tiger has more weight and hence its pugmarks are deeply embedded in the earth as compared to their female counterparts," said an official.Additional chief secretary of forest and environment Rajiv Gupta said he has not received report of tiger pugmarks matching old pugmarks. “We will have to check with the local forest officials about this report,” he said.Vertebrate ecologist and tiger expert Dr AJT Johnsingh told TOI that the tiger sighted in Gujarat should be viewed as “reclaiming their habitat.” He added, “Gujarat should take pride that it is the only state where all three panthera cats –tiger, lion and leopard—reside.”Principal chief conservator of forest AK Saxena said an inquiry report would be sought to ascertain the length of the tiger’s stay in the state.It needs mention that there have been many reports of locals reporting to have seen the tiger with cubs in the Lunawada area. Even Wildlife Institute of India (WII) had two years ago written to the state government about the possible presence of tiger on Gujarat border near Dahod after getting DNA analysis done on scat of a big cat found in the area.

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