Kheoni Wildlife Sanctuary in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh is in the spotlight for the right reasons. For the first time, five tigers have been spotted in the sanctuary that were photographed by a night camera trap. These include 1 male, 2 females and two eighteen month old tiger cubs.
The Kheoni sanctuary was established in 1955 and till now was known for its healthy herbivore population including that of spotted deer, wild boar, barking deer, sambhar, neelgay and four horned antelope.
There are also 125 species of birds found in the area. The known predators in the forest were leopards. While tiger presence was known with some saying that almost 8 tigers live here, there had been no photographic proof till now about any resident tigers.
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The photos clicked by the night camera now gives concrete evidence of the adult and the 18 month old cubs living in these forests.
The picture of the tigers has been taken near a waterhole which was being filled regularly by the forest officials. During the summer season solar pumps also had been installed to keep them from getting dry.
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The MP forest department has been persistent in creating a safe haven for wildlife in the sanctuary for the past few years now, especially hoping to make it an ideal habitat for tigers given the healthy prey population and the presence of forested areas as well as vast green meadows.
The Dewas forest division had recently prepared an action plan too for conservation of tigers presented for accreditation under Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA/TS). The experts from the organisation check if particular protected areas meet the standards for effective and long term tiger conservation.
CA/TS had found in its survey that Kheoni was indeed doing well as a habitat for tigers and now the presence of 5 wild cats proves that the royalty has approved.
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Image via Lokmat News, Patrika
