Click to play videoNew Delhi: Once a haven for wild tigers, Panna National Park on Thursday has been emptied of all its tigers. Over 20 of the big cats have gone missing and all may have succumbed to poaching.
Tiger expert P K Sen says, "If there are no tigers in Panna, then why are two female tigers been brought into the national park? Presumably, there is no tiger presence in Panna."
We are certain we have done our survey - there are no tigers in Panna
Two years ago, CNN-IBN had exposed how Panna National Park has no tigers left. The local people who live around the park blew the lid off the big cat cover up.
A retired forest guard (name withheld to protect identity) says, "They say in government reports that there are 14 (tigers), but how? Where are the tigers?"
The first person to blow the whistle on the tigers of Panna was tiger scientist, Dr Raghu Chundawat.
"We found one tigeress in a snare and we found several other animals in the snare too. We documented these, we gave the government a report, but they are still quiet about it," says Dr Chundawat.
And Dr Chudawat paid a heavy price for his role has a whistle blower. His research permits were cancelled and he was forced to leave Panna.
"Nobody will come out and speak openly about it and that is a very sad situation. What democracy are we talking about after 60 years of independence? People are scared of the government and they don't want to come out and speak the truth openly," says he.
Just recently, the Madhya Pradesh government translocated two female tigers to Panna with the hope of increasing the tiger population, but what will be the fate of these female tigers? With no male tiger left in the Park, it seem as if the breeding programme has failed?
So what can be done to ensure that the disaster of Panna is not repeated?
P K Sen says, "Protection systems should be geared up to an extent that no poaching is done."
"There are no Tigers in the National Park. We'll send the Central Tiger Protection Force to ensure no poaching takes place," adds Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister, Rajendra Shukla.
Sadly, it seems as if an entire generation of big cats has now been lost to poachers.
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