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Article History

Received: 28 January 2026

Accepted: 20 July 2026

First Online: 27 July 2026

Declarations

Ethics approval: Permission to conduct field-based non-invasive sign surveys for tiger presence was obtained from the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department (Government of Madhya Pradesh). The study involved indirect evidence collection (pugmarks, scat, and related field signs) and did not include capture, handling, or experimental manipulation of live animals. The research was conducted in accordance with the institutional research guidelines of the State Forest Research Institute and the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 of India.

Human ethics: Ethical approval for this study was granted by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) of State Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. The project was conducted under approval and funding support from the Office of the Chief Wildlife Warden & Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal. The study was carried out in accordance with the institutional research guidelines of the State Forest Research Institute and applicable national regulations governing research involving human participants in India.

Consent to participate: Informed consent was obtained from all the individual participants involved in this study.

Consent for publication: Not applicable as no identifiable personal data or images of participants are included in this manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.