1431 tiger deaths reported across India from 2012 to date; MP saw most cases

Between January 2012 and February 2025 1431 tiger deaths were reported across India More than 40 per cent of these were recorded outside protected areasMadhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of tiger deaths followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka Poaching and natural causes accounted for 227 and 559 deaths respectively while the National Tiger Conservation Authority NTCA data states that 406 deaths since 2012 are still being scrutinised A total of 106 tiger body parts were recovered in seizures to dateReferring to the period between January 2012 and September 2024 when 1386 tiger mortality events were recorded the NTCArsquos website states ldquoAs per the stringent conditions set by the NTCA all tiger deaths are considered lsquopoachingrsquo in the beginning Supplementary details like postmortem reports forensic and lab reports and circumstantial evidence are gathered to close a particular tiger death case as either natural poaching or unnatural but not poaching The figures indicate that 71 per cent of recorded tiger mortality cases have been closed after scrutinising the postmortem and forensic reports and 29 per cent of cases are pending under scrutinyrdquoThe NTCA site states that of the 1386 deaths half took place inside the tiger reserves and 42 per cent of tiger mortalities were recorded outside tiger reserves while seven per cent were seizuresTiger tollMadhya Pradesh recorded highest tiger deaths from 2012 to datemdash355 while Maharashtra recorded second highest figuremdash261 followed by Karnataka 179 Uttrakhand 132 Tamil Nadu 89 Assam 85 Kerala 76 Uttar Pradesh 67 Rajasthan 36 Bihar 22 Chhattisgarh 21 Andhra Pradesh 14 West Bengal 13 Odisha 13 Telangana 11 Goa recorded four deaths while Nagaland and Delhi recorded two each and Jharkhand Haryana Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh only recorded a single case eachGoing by data available between 2012 and September 2024 the highest deaths were recorded in January 166 followed by March 151 and May 140 The month of October had the lowest tiger deaths 70In the first two months of this year a total of 45 tigers died across the country while the high number in 12 yearsmdash178mdashwas recorded in 2023 The second and third highest number of deathsmdash127 and 121mdashwere recorded in 2021 and 2016 respectivelyExpert SpeakWildlife conservationist Kedar Gore from The Corbett Foundation was not surprised that the highest number of tiger deaths were reported from MP Maharashtra and Karnataka as they are among the top five states in terms of estimated tiger numbersldquoMost carcasses are found eight to 12 hours or even longer after tigers die and autopsies do not reveal much about the cause of death unless body parts are missing which points to poaching Therefore 29 per cent of these deaths are still showing as lsquopendingrsquo on the NTCA website These could have been natural deaths as well as retaliatory killings and the result of poaching More intensive patrolling may perhaps reduce this percentage in the future The overcrowding of tigers in smaller protected areas has increased over the years leading to higher instances of territorial fights among tigers and conflict with villagers A glaring example of this is the escalating conflict in Brahmapuri Chandrapur and Central Chanda forest divisions around Tadoba Tiger Reserve These three divisions have 150 tigers living in proximity to human habitation leading to 253 human deaths due to tiger attacks between 2019 and 2024rdquoAccording to Gore better programmes are needed for the immediate mitigation of negative humanwildlife interactions to ensure safety of tiger populations outside protected areas and in corridors ldquoThis is quite critical for longterm tiger conservationrdquo he addedAsked whether he thought the number of tiger deaths reflected a policy failure and whether successful tiger conservation had become a threat to tigers Gore said ldquoI certainly do not think that successful tiger conservation has become a threat to tigers But increasing tiger numbers in restricted areas has increased humantiger conflict manifoldrdquoSarosh Lodhi cofounder of the wildlife group CLaW and a conservation photographer pointed out that most tiger deaths occur in central India particularly in Maharashtra MP and Chhattisgarh ldquoThe trend has remained the same year after year The central India landscape also remains a hotbed of mananimal conflict and a large number of human casualties A special focus is required to tackle this region with a localised strategy We also need to work on providing safe corridors to tigers and avoid fragmentation habitat destruction etc at all costsrdquoBombay Natural History Society BNHS Director Kishor Rithe said ldquoThere has been a significant increase in the tiger population in central India Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh as well as in Karnataka over the past few years so the deaths recorded would obviously be high Though the protection level at tiger reserves and protected areas has improved linear infrastructure and other development projects including mining pose serious threats in corridors Saving tigers outside protected areas has been a tough task and governments need to work hard with all other departments in tiger corridorsrdquoBig cat factsIndia is home to 75 per cent of the global wild tiger population A press release issued in July 2022 stated ldquoOn April 9 2022 during the celebration of 50 years of the Project Tiger at Mysuru Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the minimum tiger population of 3167 which is the population estimate from the cameratrapped area Now further analysis of data done by the Wildlife Institute of India from both cameratrapped and noncameratrapped tiger presence areas the upper limit of the tiger population is estimated to be 3925 and the average number is 3682 reflecting a commendable annual growth rate of 61 per cent per annumThe release further stated that the largest tiger population of 785 is in Madhya Pradesh followed by Karnataka 563 Uttarakhand 560 and Maharashtra 444The tiger population within the tiger reserves is highest at Jim Corbett National Park 260 followed by the Bandipur 150 Nagarhole 141 Bandhavgarh 135 Dudhwa 135 Mudumalai 114 Kanha 105 Kaziranga 104 Sundarbans 100 Tadoba 97 Sathyamangalam 85 and Pench 77 sanctuaries