India holds 75% of the population of tigers (Panthera tigris), and has been able to conserve this globally threatened species with the comprehensive conservation approach of a scientific base, effective management, controlled illegal wildlife crime and sustainable tourism. In this blog know about the famous tigers in Kanha National Park and learn about their behaviours, history, and tips for spotting these magnificent creatures.
The Central Indian landscapes have played a prominent role in the history of wildlife in the region and this is intrinsically entwined to its cultural and ecological evolution.
Particularly in the highlands of the Satpura mountain range, lie a few of the well-managed protected areas, one of them being “Kanha Tiger Reserve”, with a unique habitat of diverse vegetation, geography and climate. The tigers and forests of Kanha have been protected for centuries by the locals, rulers and governments for different reasons. Currently Kanha holds a viable population of the largest species of wild cat which is 105 breeding individuals.
Despite of predominant human presence, habitat fragmentation through rail-road network in the landscape dispersal of tigers to neighboring habitats (Tadoba, Pench, Achanakmar, and Bandhavgarh TRs) is well evident and documented by conservation scientists and managers which enables the continuous gene flow to sustain a viable population.
As only 20% of the protected area is accessible, the tigers across all zones of Kanha Tiger Reserve have become popular among visitors and locals. Furthermore, the locals have affectionately named these tigers, reflecting the connection they feel with them, regardless of their scientific designations.
Therefore, here is a complete guide of the notable tigers in each safari zone of Kanha, as per the sightings during 2023-2024. Furthermore, understanding the distribution of tiger sightings across different zones can provide valuable insights into their habitat preferences as well as their movement patterns. Additionally, this also builds an understanding that there can be further developments and poachers or other tragedies that could befall the famous tigers.
Read More: About Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh
Interesting Facts About the Tigers in Kanha
| Average Age | 13 – 15 years |
| Dispersal Age | 2.4 – 3.5 years |
| Average Reproductive Age | 4 – 5 years |
| Gestation Duration | 95 – 105 days |
| Litter Size | 3 – 5 cubs |
| Courtship and Mating Season | Late December to early February (as observed in Kanha Tiger Reserve, it varies and is regulated by diverse factors) |
| Average Size & Weight | 2.7 – 3.1 meters in length, 180 – 258 kg (up to 300 kg) |
| Home Range/Territory | 10 – 400 km2 (Males have larger territories, overlapping several female territories; the territory size depends upon the resources and habitat availability) |
| Major Prey Species (specific to Kanha Tiger Reserve) | Deer species (Chital, Sambar), Gaur, Wild Pig, Crested Porcupine and Langurs |
| Co-Predators | Common leopard, Wild dogs, Sloth bear, Striped hyena, Golden jackals, & smaller carnivores |
| Vernacular Names | Baagh, Waghdoh |
| Other Names in Different Languages | Tigre (French & Spanish), Laohu (Chinese), Tigr (Russian), Con ho (Vietnamese) & Rag (Tibetan) |
| Subspecies Panthera tigris : Tigris and Sondaica (2 species as most adopted as per IUCN) | Altaica, Amoyensis, Balica, Corbetti, Sondaica, Sumatrae, Tigris & Virgata (Bali Caspian and Javan tigers are now extinct from the wild) |
| Threats | Illegal hunting, poaching, habitat loss and degradation, negative interaction with humans, zoonotic disease outbreaks & traditional medicinal practices derived from hunting |
| Estimation Methods | Spatially explicit capture- recapture ( SECR) |
| Tools Used | Sign surveys, Camera traps, DNA analysis, remote sensing, statistical modeling (Non-invasive sampling) |
Know More: Facts About Tigers
The Most Notable Tigers in Kanha Tiger Reserve (2023-2024)
| Zone | Identity of the popular tigers at Kanha Tiger Reserve (2023-2024) | |
| 1. | Kanha | Neelam, Mohini, Naina, Jr Bajrang, Lockdown 1&2, Neelima, Sunaina |
| 2. | Kisli | Z1, Jr sonder, Ghnaghar, M1, DB2, Diwanbehra |
| 3. | Mukki | DJ, MV3, Neela-Nala, DB3, Pattewala |
| 4. | Sarhi | Balwan, Parsatola |
| 5. | Khatiya (buffer zone) | Magarnala, DJ 5 |
| 6. | Khapa | Khapa, Balaghat |
| 7. | Lesser known (less frequency of tigers) | Devtalai, Bhoindabra |
Know More: Popular Gates of Kanha National Park
1. Kanha Zone
Females :
Neelam (T-65) Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| 13 years (born in 2011) | Mundidadar (T-8) | Munna (T-17) | 2015- 3 cubs | 4 |
A 13-year-old female, currently defending her territory in Kanha Zone, has been a dominant ever since she established her territory. Neelam inherited the dominance from her parents Mundidadar & legendary Munna.
Her first litter (3 cubs) was born in 2015 up to the age of 4, but unfortunately none of the cubs survived for long, facing diverse ecological challenges. Her second litter (4 cubs) was successful, wherein she raised all of them to their adulthood. Both of her first and second litters were sired by the then dominant male named Bajrang (T-64).
Neelam’s third and fourth litter was sired by Bhoindabra. Her third litter was born in 2020 (3 cubs). Currently in 2024, she is raising her fourth litter with 3 cubs (2 male and 1 female), who now assist their mother and are learning to adapt survival skills. They have been observed preying independently and soon will be dispersing.
Cubs from her second and third litter are now independent as they have successfully established and defended their territories in and around the Kanha Zone. They all have been observed contributing in breeding. Neelima occupied her partial territory, and Junior Bajrang became a dominant long ranging tiger, who is known to pair up with several females.
Due to her old age and compromised physique, her original territory has been pushed to a very small area by several other young tigresses around the same area competing for resources. She was once radio collared in 2014 for scientific studies and yielded vital information which was necessary to know the behavior and ecological aspects.
She was frequently sighted in and around meadows of Kanha Zone along with her 3 cubs and remained the center of attraction among the visitors. In March ’24, for a short duration she was spotted moving to the Kisli area with her cubs following her. Later, she again moved back to her original territorial area.
Know More: Tiger Safari in Kanha
Mohini- Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| 6 years (born in 2018) | Naina (T-76) | Devtalai (T- 5) | 2024- 2 cubs | 1 |
Being referred to as the adult tigress of Kanha, Mohini recently produced her very first litter sired by Lockdown Male, whose courtship and mating were very evident during late December ’23 and early January ’24. Later, she remained unnoticed for a very long time, though recently in the last week of April ’24, she was again sighted and announced the good news of 2 infant cubs that she was carrying.
She is becoming more dominant and expanding her territory by frequent visits to Neelam’s territory and has been observed attacking female cubs of Neelam, a couple of times in the season. This behavior shows the intra-specific competition in order to showcase the character of dominance.
On several occasions she was observed chasing sloth bears in the meadow, in the month of January ’24. This has certainly been a glimmer for many visitors, as this kind of competitive behavior (inter-specific) is rare to witness.
Naina (T-76) Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| 11 years (born in 2013) | Mundidadar (T-8) | Red Eye Male (T-17) | 2017 | 4 |
Naina, one of the most beautiful tigresses of the park, shares her territory with Neelam. She got the name ‘Naina’ not just for her eyes, but for her remarkable boldness of making direct eye contact whenever she is sighted. She has raised four litters until now, mostly sired by Devtalai (T-5), wherein her first and single litter was sired by Bajrang (T-64).
Naina was sighted during a very few occasions in this season, including being recently sighted in the second week of April ’24, in her original territorial area, in a healthy condition.
Know More: Why Book a Full Day Safari in Kanha National Park
Neelima (T115) Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| 7 years (born in 2017) | Neelam (T-65) | Bajrang (T-64) | 2019- 2022 | 2 |
One of the siblings of Junior Bajrang from the second litter of Neelam, Neelima has been the cub who remained with her mother for the longest duration (almost 33 months). She is a shy individual and remains in the forest cover. Despite her shyness, she has been sighted during several occasions in this season and recent sightings confirmed that she is raising her cubs. The exact number of her cubs from the current litter is still a mystery.
Sunaina (T-122) Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| 7 years (born in 2017) | Naina (T-76) | Bajrang ( T-64) | 2020- 2 cubs | 2 |
Sunaina is slowly coming out of her shyness and has been recently sighted in the forested areas away from the meadow, along with her 3 cubs. She avoids any conflict with other tigers with overlapping territories.
Males :
Junior Bajrang (T-118) Male
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Siblings |
| 7 years (born in 2017) | Neelam (T-65) | Bajrang (T-64) | – | T115, 116 & 117 |
Born and brought up in Kanha Zone, Junior Bajrang now rules Kanha and has been observed to have sired several tigresses on multiple occasions. He is one of the most sighted tigers in Kanha and thus, earned popularity amongst visitors.
Lockdown 1&2 Males
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Siblings |
| 4 years (born in 2020) | Neelam (T-65) | Bhoindabra | – | 3 (F) |
Both the males are very elusive and remain in thick forest, rarely visible during their sighting. One of the males among these, was sighted during courtship with Mohini in December ’23.
They have been named Lockdown as they were born during the Covid pandemic lockdown of 2020. A few people call them 20:20 as well.
2. Kisli Zone
Females :
Zilaline (T-58) Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| 13 years (born in 2011) | Mahaveer (T- 33) | Old thin striped | 2016 | 2 |
She was named ‘Zilaline’ after her first known visual encounter near the fire break line which also denoted the district boundary of two different administrative units (Mandla and Balaghat) called Zila in Hindi. She established her territory at the periphery of Kisli and Kanha Zone.
She was born in the tourist area of the park but, despite this fact, she remained away from the tourist vehicles and hence sighting frequency has been way lesser in comparison to other tigers of the area.
Junior Sondor Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| – | Sondar (T-60) | not known | 2022 | 1 |
Junior Sonder Female is one of the cubs of an elderly tiger named Sonder, and currently gaining popularity amongst visitors visiting Kisli Zone as she is raising 4 cubs. All the 4 cubs are reported and have been observed in healthy conditions. She, along with her 18 month-old cub, have been frequently sighted in a 4 km stretch of Kisli zone. Visitors who enter from the Khatiya Gate and have booked for Sarhi and Kisli, remain satisfied with the sighting of this tiger family.
A female cub of this family has gained popularity because of her elegance and beauty, hence the locals have named her as ‘Sundari’ (meaning beautiful in Hindi). We all wish to see these beautiful cubs grow, and become dominant as she attains her maturity.
Know More: Best Time to Visit in Kanha National Park & Where to Stay!
Ghanghar- Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| 5 years (born in 2019) | Budbudi (T-83) | not known | – | none |
This young female remains in the Kisli Zone and has been sighted frequently by visitors entering from almost all three gates. She is defending a small territory overlapped with four different male tigers. Recently, a young male tiger from the Mukki Zone looking for mates and territory, has moved in her territory and has been spotted several times with her.
She has been named Ghanghar, based on the name of the locality ‘Ghanghar nala’, where she was born.
Males :
Z1 Male
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Siblings |
| 8 years (born in 2016) | Zila line (T-58) | Chota Munna (T-29) | – | Z2 and Z3 |
Z1, an adult dominant male of Kisli Zone, cubs of Zila-line female, and known to have sired Junior Sonder’s recent litter. He is slightly elusive in behavior and remains in dense forests of the Kisli Zone. The sightings of these dominant males were limited and remained for short durations. He defends a large territory and thus, is not seen very frequently. On a few occasions he has been sighted with Jr. Sondar, with all her cubs, enlightening the visitors with family moments.
M1 (T-99) Male
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Siblings |
| 9 years (born in 2015) | Mundidadar (T-8) | Red eyed M | – | M2, M3 & M4 |
Born in the Kanha Zone along with his three siblings, he was the first one amongst his siblings to disperse in order to explore the area to set up his territory. He is now comfortably setting up his own territory in the tourism area of Kisli Zone and successfully defending it without much conflict with other tigers.
He is known to have sired several tigers in the Kisli Zone, overlapping his territory with the territories of Bubudi, Indri and Sandukhol females.
In this season, he was sighted in the regions of Raja-Khachar and Chimta camp, but all of his encounters were for a short duration, showcasing his shy behavior.
DB2- Male
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Siblings |
| 5 years (born in 2019) | Diwanbehra F | M1 | – | DB1, 3, & 4 (3M and 1F) |
DB2 was encountered by visitors during this season in the Kisli Zone for initial few months, but later he was known to venture out in distant places of Sarhi Zone.
3. Mukki Zone
Females :
DJ- Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| 12 years (born in 2012) | Choti Mada (T-31) | Old stripe Male | 2017 | 4 |
DJ stands for Dhawajhandi, which is a patrolling camp at the elevated plateaus top and lies in the Mukki Zone. The female tiger, famous as a DJ among locals and visitors, is currently the most dominant female of this zone. She defends the territory in which she was born back in 2012 and inherited the characters to dominate from her parents. Her first litter was in 2017 (4 cubs) and second litter was in 2019 (3 cubs) sired by Chota-munna (T-29) and Umarpani (T-30) respectively. Her third litter did not survive and remained unconfirmed.
She has become a record holder tigress for Kanha Tiger Reserve to give birth to the maximum limit of tiger known litter size when she gave birth to 5 cubs in early 2023, out of which 3 lost their lives due to intra-specific competition and varied reasons. 2 of the cubs, one male and one female from this most recent litter of DJ were sired by DB-3 and are doing perfectly well. They are still best sighted with their mother and occasionally with their father as well. Survival lessons have taught them to stay & hunt together.
The cubs of recent litter of DJ have been observed to prey upon chital independently, without their mother’s assistance at several occasions. She and her cubs are best seen in Singarpur, Babathenga, Malkheri and Dhawajhandi. She has been one of the most sighted and photographed tigresses of the Mukki Zone in this season. This family of magnificent tigers were seen only by visitors entering from Khatiya and Mukki Gate.
MV3- Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| 8 years | Mahaveer | Kingfisher | 2016- 2017 (most likely) | 3 |
A beautiful female tiger, who is currently one of the most frequently sighted in the Mukki Zone. This season, there seems to be less movement observed as compared to last year most likely due to limited water availability where she was sighted in previous years. She has been encountered in the areas close to Mukki Gate. She has got the name Mahaveer in inheritance from her mother as she was the third cub of her mother. She has successfully raised 2 male cubs in her current litter. One of the cubs now is a sub-adult venturing out in the Kisli Zone looking forward to establishing his territory.
Males :
Neela Nala- Male
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Siblings |
| 6-7 years | not known | not known | NA | not known |
A magnificent dominant fully grown adult and dominant male from the Mukki Zone, often known to establish his territory around Naktighati, Chatta Patra. His majestic walks attract visitors during all of his sighting occasions.
He got his name from where he got first sighted and best seen by visitors entering from Khatiya and Mukki Gates.
DB-3 Male
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Siblings |
| 5 years (born in 2019) | Diwanbehra F | M1 | – | DB1, 2, & 4 (3M & 1F) |
DB3 Male , sibling of DB 1,2 & 4 from the Kisli Zone is now a dominant male of Mukki Zone. He has sired the current litter of popular DJ and has been sighted in the area frequently and occasionally with his cubs and mate. He defends his territory which overlaps with Neela-Nala.
Patte Wala- Male
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Siblings |
| 6 years (approx) | not known | not known | NA | NA |
He was initially rescued as an infant abandoned cub, raised in human care during his early age, later was released in the wild and slowly he developed instincts and now successfully established himself as dominant male tiger of the Mukki Zone. Visitors have sighted him at several occasions in this season. He got his name Patte Wala because of the fact that he was fitted with a GPS collar initially to monitor his movement after the release.
4. Sarhi Zone
Parsatola (T- 13) Female
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Total litter until 2024 |
| 10+ years (exact age not confirmed) | Udnakhero | Munna (T-17) | 2016 | – |
She got her name from the area where she was born in the Kanha Zone which shares its borders with Sarhi Zone. She is shy and not very often sighted since she was young. She was seen both in Kanha and Sarhi Zone this season, but with different male tigers at different occasions. On one occasion, she was sighted along with Junior Bajrang and behavior was inferred as possible mating behavior (mock mating).
Balwaan (T-116) Male
| Age | Mother | Father | First litter | Siblings |
| 7 years (born in 2017) | Neelam | Bajrang (T-64) | – | T-115, 117& 118 |
Balwaan is the male tiger, sibling of Junior Bajrang and cub of Neelam (T-65), sired by Bajrang. He established his territory in the Sarhi Zone. Sightings of this tiger individual are less than usual in this season because of its shy behavior and dense forest cover of the zone.
5. Tigers of Buffer Zone
Khatiya Zone
A young female tiger named Magarnala was often sighted with her cubs, while a male named DJ5 shared territory with her and Z1 male from Kisli Zone. Furthermore, the access to this zone is only through the Khatiya Gate.
Khapa Zone
Visitors often spotted tigers named Khapa male and Balaghat male near Mukki Gate in the Khapa Zone.
6. Rare Tiger Sightings
Two of the tigers who fall under this category are dominant big males defending a vast territory and hence they were sighted rarely during the season.
Algidadar Female
Extremely shy tiger, raising 4 of her cubs, sighted rarely in the Mukki Zone.
Devtalai (T-5) Male
Sighted in the Kanha Zone in the territories of Mohini and Naina.
Bhoindabra Male
Sighted in Kanha-ghat area of Kanha Zone in the territories of Neelam and Neelima.
Tribute To The Tigers
During this season, we lost two dominant tigers and we pay tribute to both of them. One was named Yuvraj (T-67), who died of natural aging and the other one was T-46, who died in an unfortunate accident.
Summary
Overall this season has been magnificent in terms of tiger sightings, where roughly 50 individual tigers have been sighted including growing cubs of several popular tigers. Mating occasions of several tiger pairs have been documented as moments of fascination and visitors were thrilled to capture moments of young cubs hunting down prey following evolution. Birth of the new cubs was confirmed for a few of the tiger mothers and intra-specific competition between several tigers were also proven to be nail biting moments witnessed by the visitors. Inter-specific interactions were also encountered by the guests visiting the heart of the tigers of Central India as famous by the name Kanha.
The data shared above is as per the tiger status in Kanha National Park reported in May ’24.
Contributed by: Team Kanha Earth Lodge & edited by Tanvi Shah
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