This is a "rounding problem". The population size after 6 years is P(6):
Now, for the first decimal place (1) is less than 5, 187.175 becomes 187 (by the rounding rule); namely,
On the other hand, the population size after 8 years is P(8):
Now, for the first decimal place (9) is greater than 5, 251.93 becomes 252; namely,