Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh forest department has asked Gujarat to ensure security of the tiger that has strayed into the latter’s territory. Chief wildlife warden has sent a letter in this regard asking officers to keep track of its movements and intimate MP.“Animals know no borders, but since it’s our tiger we are concerned. We have send an official communication in this regard,” APCCF (wildlife) Dilip Kumar told TOI. The tiger had trekked 300km over the course of two years to reach Gujarat from Madhya Pradesh. A comparison of stripes from photographs taken during its journey prove that the tiger was from MP. Camera trap images confirm that this is the same tiger that was spotted close to Nagda hills of Dewas in January 2017.Tigers are known to disperse far from their birthplace in search of new territories and mates. Several such incidents have been reported of late.While on other hand environmentalists are thinking about the next step. “I am wondering what Gujarat is going to do with one tiger,” conservationist Vaibhav Chaturvedi said.He added that good conservation efforts by the MP government is yielding results. “Tigers are straying out in search of new territories. This is a good sign of growing population,” he added. Even as India awaits results of the latest tiger census, forest officials and wildlife experts from MP are hopeful that the state will lead the nation in the number of big cats.Insiders informed that census officials have recorded presence of tigers across 1450 beats compared to around 700 in the previous counting. Census results is expected to be out in a few months.“Geographical mapping of tigers, which is conducted every four years and was held during January this year, has given positive indications. Population has doubled. We will regain our tiger state status,” said an officer. Karnataka was on top with 406 tigers recorded in the 2014 census followed by Uttarakhand with 340 tigers, Madhya Pradesh (308) and Tamil Nadu (229).Forest officials said that the All India Tiger Assessment 2018 is expected to give more accurate results as this was the first tiger census where volunteers and foresters used a digital app to record their observations. The app, MSTrIPES, is an integrated programme for GPS-aided spatial patrolling and ecological assessment of tiger reserves.

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