Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, while responding to a query in the Lok Sabha, said seventy-one tigers died due to unnatural causes, including poaching and seizures, since 2021.
Madhya Pradesh reports highest number of deaths of tigers
Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of deaths at 20, followed by Maharashtra (15) and Karnataka (4) since 2021, Singh said, citing data from the Environment Ministry.
Twenty tiger deaths were reported in 2021, while 25 big cats died in 2022. In 2023, 25 tigers were reported dead while one casualty due to unnatural causes has been confirmed so far this year, according to the data shared by the minister in his reply.
Number of deaths Year
- 20 2021
- 25 2022
- 25 2023
- 1 2024
Tiger population growth rate is 6 per cent per annum: Govt
Tiger population is increasing at a rate of 6 per cent per annum in the country when consistently sampled areas are compared, Singh said.
The tiger population has increased as per the All India Tiger Estimation done in 2022, with an estimated number of 3,682 (range 3,167-3,925) as compared to the 2018 estimation of 2,967 (range 2,603-3,346) and the 2014 estimation of 2,226 (range 1,945-2,491), Singh said in his written response.
Forest officials to be accountable for death of tigers: Odisha govt
Meanwhile, the Odisha government said on November 20 that forest department officials will be held accountable for the deaths of tigers in the state.
Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia announced this while addressing the Divisional Forest Officers (DFO) conference here.
"The death of elephants, the killing of tigers and eating their meat is distressing for the people of our state. For this, the forest officials at the top, along with the lower-ranking employees, will be held accountable," the minister said.
A third of Ranthambore's 75 tigers missing, say officials
Earlier this month, Rajasthan's Chief Wildlife Warden Pavan Kumar Upadhyay told park officials that twenty-five of the 75 tigers in Ranthambore National Park (RNP) have gone missing over the last year.
This is the first time such a high number of tigers has been officially reported missing in a year. Previously, 13 tigers were reported missing from Ranthambore between January 2019 and January 2022.
The wildlife department formed a three-member committee to investigate the disappearances. The team will review monitoring records and recommend action if any lapses by park officials are found.
The focus is on finding 14 tigers that have not been seen since between May 17 and September 30 of this year.
(With PTI inputs)
