The tiger population in India has witnessed a remarkable increase of 715 tigers in the past four years, according to the fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE). However, the significant increase brings overshadowed joy due to the alarming number of reported tiger deaths during the same period.
Responding to an unstarred question posed by MP Asaduddin Owaisi in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Ashwini Kumar Choubey revealed that there were 661 tiger deaths between 2018 and July 22 this year. The continuing threat to the majestic big cats is reflected by the poaching of 126 tigers.
Despite conservation efforts, the number of tiger deaths has been on an upward trend over the last four years, and the recent figure doesn’t even include tiger deaths reported in the last nine days after July 22.
Chandrapur district of Maharashtra has witnessed a recent spate of tiger deaths, with three incidents reported in the past five days alone. On Monday, officials found a dead tigress, suspecting electrocution as the cause, in the Bhadravati forest range.
661 tiger deaths in 6 years
| Year | Natural and other causes | Confirmed poaching | Unnatural but not poaching |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 53 | 44 | 4 |
| 2019 | 66 | 27 | 3 |
| 2020 | 90 | 15 | 1 |
| 2021 | 101 | 18 | 8 |
| 2022 | 108 | 10 | 3 |
| 2023 | (as on 22.07.2023) 98 | 12 | 0 |
RTI activist Abhay Kolarkar discovered that poachers killed 115 tigers between 2018 and 2022, with 23 of them being poached.
The average lifespan of tigers in the wild is generally 10-12 years, and various factors cause their mortality, including old age, disease, territorial fights, electrocution, trapping, drowning, and road accidents and railway incidents. Additionally, the big cat population experiences a significant number of infant deaths.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority follows a strict protocol to determine the cause of tiger deaths. They fully investigate any unnatural death and determine the cause only after carefully analyzing necropsy reports, histopathology, and forensic evaluations, along with photographs and circumstantial evidence.
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