6th tiger dies in MP in a week, annual toll hits record 54

BHOPAL: A tiger carcass was found Saturday during a survey in Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh reserve, taking the casualty count to six in a week and 54 so far this year in the state with India’s largest number of big cats.

This is Madhya Pradesh’s highest annual toll since Project Tiger was launched in 1973. The state had reported 46 deaths in 2024, 45 in 2023, 43 in 2022 and 34 in 2021.

Officials said the carcass was found Saturday under suspicious circumstances by foresters involved in a field exercise for All India Tiger Estimation close to a power line in Chandia forest range of Umaria district under Bandhavgarh reserve.

Electrocution is not ruled out. The power infrastructure is being inspected to determine whether exposed or illegal wiring had led to the tiger’s death.

In recent years, electrocution has emerged as one of the recurring causes of tiger deaths in the state.

The carcass is being sent for post-mortem, the officials said, adding samples will be sent for forensic analysis if foul play is suspected.

Forest officials clarified, however, that most deaths this year had resulted from natural causes and reflected a growing tiger population.

“More the numbers, more the deaths. It’s very natural,” said an officer, requesting anonymity.

Forest department sources pointed out that higher numbers inevitably led to higher mortality figures, particularly in landscapes with dense big cat populations. They said the majority of the deaths this year were suspected to have resulted from violent fights over territorial supremacy, especially among adult males and dispersing sub-adults.

Conservationists, however, said repeated deaths — even if natural — underlined the need for better habitat management and mitigation of avoidable threats.

“I don’t know why forest department officers are at ease over these deaths. If tigers are getting killed by electrocution inside core areas of tiger reserves, it can’t be natural. There are poachers targeting herbivore wildlife using power lines and officers must check the lines and previous recommendations” said Ajay Dubey, a wildlife activist.

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