The facility is first of its kind in Madhya Pradesh
Bhopal: A white tiger breeding Centre, first of its kind facility in India, is set to be established in Govindgarh under Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh.
The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has accorded approval for the project, deputy chief minister of Madhya Pradesh government Dr Rajendra Shukla said on Sunday.
“Under the revised Master (Layout) Plan of Maharaja Martand Singh Judeo White Tiger Safari and Zoo, Mukundpur, Satna (in Madhya Pradesh), the proposal for establishing a satellite facility as the White Tiger Breeding Centre at Govindgarh, Rewa, has been approved by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA)”, deputy chief minister Dr Shukla said.
The approval follows the recommendations made by the expert group (of CZA) in its 114th meeting held on December nine and 17, 2024, and subsequently by the technical committee in its 112th meeting on December 19, 2024, he said.
Madhya Pradesh has earned the tag of being a ‘tiger state’ for housing the highest number of tigers in the country, a cheetah state for introducing the wild animal in Kuno National Park in the state, and a leopard state for having the highest number of the particular species in the country will be known for its white tiger population in future, he added.
Speaking to this newspaper, Additional Principal Chief Conservator (APCCF) (wildlife) of Madhya Pradesh L Krishnamurthi said that the proposed ‘Tiger Breeding Centre’ would be an extension of the Mukundpur White Tiger Safari and Zoo.
“We plan to do a scientific study of white tiger breeding at the proposed Centre at Govindgarh in Rewa”, he said.
White tiger is not a subspecies of tiger, but rather a Bengal or Siberian tiger with a rare colour mutation called leucism (a rare genetic anomaly).
White tiger has the typical black stripes of a tiger, but its coat is otherwise white or near-white.
The first white tiger was spotted in Madhya Pradesh’s Vindhya region in which Satna district in the state falls, in 1915. It was then caught but died in 1920.
In 1951, a white tiger cub, named Mohan was captured in the region.
Former Rewa princely estate’s ruler Maharaja Martand Singh was credited for the conservation of white tiger population in the region.
World’s first white tiger safari was established at Mukundpur in Satna district in Madhya Pradesh in 2016.
The safari started with three white tigers, including two females and two Royal Bengal tigers.
