More than three decades after tigers vanished from Gujarat’s forests, a lone wandering big cat has taken up residence in the Ratanmahal Wildlife Sanctuary.

The sighting has stirred optimism about the species’ revival in a state best known as the last home of the Asiatic lion.

The tiger’s presence has also prompted State Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia to declare that Gujarat now hosts three big cats — the lion, leopard and tiger. He said tigers once roamed the region in significant numbers before disappearing over time.

Forest officials, he said, have confirmed that “a tiger that wandered into Gujarat nearly nine months ago has made Ratanmahal Wildlife Sanctuary in Dahod district its new home.”

The animal was first recorded on CCTV cameras inside the forest in February.

“Since February, forest staff have been keeping a close watch on the tiger’s movement. During the last nine months, this tiger was captured at regular intervals on our cameras placed inside the forest, which has established that the big cat has settled in the Ratanmahal forest,” Modhwadia told reporters.

He added that the tiger “appears to be healthy.”

To support its survival, the forest department has relocated herbivores into the sanctuary to ensure an adequate prey base. The step signals the state’s attempt to prepare the landscape for a predator that has been absent for a generation.

The tiger’s decision to stay, after months of monitoring, marks a rare reversal in a region where big cats have long been synonymous only with lions. Whether one animal can lead to a broader comeback remains uncertain, but for the first time in decades, Gujarat has a tiger in its forests again.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority has been informed about the tiger's presence in Gujarat and its guidance has been sought for further action.

The forest department records show that tigers went extinct in Gujarat in 1989.

In February 2019, the forest department confirmed the presence of a tiger in Lunawada tehsil of Mahisagar district. However, the hopes of revival died out when the big cat's carcass was found in the same forest area after two weeks.