Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Monday praised the forest department for their efforts that helped Madhya Pradesh to take the top slot and achieve 'Tiger State' status with the highest number of 526 big cats. MP was followed by Karnataka with 524 big cats. Uttarakhand stood at number 3 with 442 tigers.

"I have seen times when tigers were not so important. Everyone should know that the tiger is at the heart of our ecosystem. If we have to save the environment we have to save tigers,” said the chief minister while addressing a function that was organized to observe Global Tiger Day at Minto hall. The chief minister also congratulated officers and field staff for taking Madhya Pradesh on top of the world in terms of tiger population.