TIGERS AT RATAPANI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY: A Wild Heart Beats Just Outside Bhopal
Imagine a forest where the roar of a tiger can be heard from the edge of a bustling city. That’s the reality at Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary, a 1,271 km² stretch of dry-deciduous forest that now holds the title of Madhya Pradesh’s eighth tiger reserve and India’s 57th. Located only 40 km from Bhopal, the sanctuary is a living laboratory of how large predators can survive-and even thrive-when they share space with millions of people.
A GROWING TIGER POPULATION:
Camera traps and recent surveys show that Ratapani is home to roughly 90 tigers, a number that has risen steadily as prey species recover and the forest gains legal protection. The sanctuary’s dense teak woods, interspersed with grasslands and waterholes, provide the perfect hunting grounds for these apex predators. Yet the same habitat is criss-crossed by a busy railway line, a network of mines, and expanding townships, creating a patchwork where tigers and humans constantly intersect.
THE URBAN EDGE: “CITY TIGERS”
Because the sanctuary sits on the doorstep of Bhopal (population ~20 lakh), tigers have earned the nickname “city tigers.” Monitoring projects have identified at least three adult males, five females and a handful of cubs roaming the forest corridors that link the city’s green patches with the protected core. These urban wanderers often slip into residential areas, school campuses and even the sprawling MANIT campus, prompting both awe and alarm among locals.
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