HSTORY OF bandhavgarh & mohan, the father of all royal bengal white tigers

For the admirers of the spectacular tigers & those interested to know more about Mohan – the founding father of the white tigers of Rewa – this story is a must read for you.

Known as the first ancestor of Bengal's white tiger population

Mohan’s narrative begins in being caught in the wild as a cub & thereafter, raised in captivity. Raised in the court of Maharaja of Rewa Martand Singh, Mohan was just a cub when he was first captured. The cub lost his mother and siblings to the onslaught of hunters, and was brought to the court of Govindgarh.

HISTORY OF MOHAN

He was captured as a cub in 1951 by Maharaja of Rewa,whose hunting party in Bandhavgarh found a tigress with four 9-month-old cubs, one of which was white. All of them were shot except for the white cub.
The cub was subsequently captured and was housed in the unused palace at Govindgarh in the erstwhile harem courtyard. The Maharaja named him Mohan. Determined of procuring more white cubs – for the lure of one enchanted the hunters more than anything else – the Maharaja had Mohan breed with their ‘royal consort’ Begum, who was a normal coloured wild tigress. However, even after three attempts, the duo failed to procreate a white cub, and all the cubs born were of normal colour.
In 1953, Mohan was bred to a normal-coloured wild tigress called Begum (“royal consort”), which produced two male orange cubs on September 7, one of which went to Bombay Zoo. In 1955 they had a litter of two males and two females on April 10 (which included a male named Sampson and a female named Radha), all normal-coloured. On July 10, 1956 they again had a litter of two males and two females, which included a male named Sultan who went to Ahmedabad Zoo, and a female named Vindhya who went to the Delhi Zoo and was later bred to an unrelated male named Suraj. Once again, the breeding experiments failed to yield a single white cub.
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Mohan was then bred to his daughter Radha (who carried the white gene inherited from her father) with success. The initial litter of four cubs, born on October 30th, 1958—a male named Raja, and three females named Rani, Mohini, and Sukeshi—were the first white tigers born in captivity. White tigers are held captive around the world for their colour and financial purposes. Only 0.001% of the tiger population represents the white colour. And even though the breeding of white tigers is seriously condemned, the process is still extremely rampant. So much so that experts believe that it leads to the loss of genetic variability and inbreeding depression in the animals.

Mohan breathed his last at the age of 20 in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh and was laid to rest with Hindu rites.
Mohan was the last white tiger born in the wild and hence will always be remembered as a legend.

THE NATIONAL PARKS OF MADHYA PRADESH

Kanha National Park is the largest national park of Madhya Pradesh & a feast for the eyes for wildlife enthusiasts. An epitome of conservation,successful rehabilitation of the Hard ground Swamp Deer ( Barasingha ) speaks about the dedication & efforts of the forest dept as well as the local population. It is also the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot, "Bhoorsingh the Barasingha".

Bandhavgarh is a place of mythological and legendary significance. Bandhavgarh is also the land of tigers. This is the place to visit if you want to spot the big cat. India’s top dwelling for tigers, Bandhavgarh National Park has the highest density of Royal Bengal tigers in the world.

Pench National Park derives its name from the Pench River that flows through the park. In 2011, the park won the "Best Management Award". Pench National Park has been immortalized with it’s description in Ain-i-Akbari, and is the setting of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

Panna’s royal past dates back to mid of 17th Centuary AD, when it became the capital of Maharaja Chhatrasal’s kingdom. On the other hand, with Ken River passing through Panna hills, the city has a wildlife-friendly present. You can spot the majestic tiger, the ghariyal - a huge reptile found only in the Indian subcontinent, and a variety of flora and fauna.

Madhai is located at the entrance of the most exquisite and beautiful forests in India - Satpura. Few places in the world can compete with its raw wilderness, absolute tranquillity and the air of mystique. It delights you with its rich wildlife, sprawling meadows, unending backwaters and spell-binding views that leave you awestruck and get you to be completely in sync with the magic of nature.