13 tigers dead in 16 days of Jan; 7 in Maharashtra

India recorded 127 tiger deaths in 2024. Representation pic/iSTOCK

The new year has started on a grim note for wild tigers in India, with 13 reported deaths in the first 16 days of 2025. Maharashtra recorded the highest number at seven deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh.

As per to www.tigernet.nic.in, the official database of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) - a state agency under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change - of the 13 deaths, nine occurred outside tiger reserves, while four were reported within. Madhya Pradesh recorded two deaths, while Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Kerala, and Assam each reported one tiger death. The exact causes are yet to be determined.

Wildlife conservationist Kedar Gore from the Corbett Foundation explained that in states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, where tiger populations are high, some deaths due to natural causes are expected. However, he pointed out that at least four tiger deaths in Maharashtra were linked to poaching and human-wildlife conflict.

Gore added, "Hopefully, the NTCA and respective forest departments will focus more on timely addressing the reasons leading to negative human-wildlife interactions. Timely release of funds, compensating local communities for human, property, and agricultural losses due to wildlife, and ensuring capacity building of frontline staff to improve vigilance against poaching are crucial. Most unnatural tiger deaths occur in buffer areas, wildlife corridors, and forest divisions adjacent to well-protected tiger reserves."

Sarosh Lodhi, co-founder of the wildlife group Conservation Lenses & Wildlife (CLaW) and a conservation photographer, said, "While authorities are considering introducing birth control measures for tigers, the focus should be on reducing the mortality rate and securing corridors to allow tigers to move freely."