With four months to go, the country has witnessed record tiger deaths at 128 till date this year, the highest in a decade. This indicates that the toll could be higher by the end of 2023 as a considerable number of natural deaths inside forests often go unreported.

Data available from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) till August 28 this year reveals that if 65 big cats had fallen prey to poachers, accidents and man-animal conflict outside protected areas nearly the same number of predators died inside the tiger reserve, mostly in territorial fights and due to old age besides poaching. This calls for rigorous conservation efforts, sensitization of the community on the one hand and better management inside the forest reserves, say wildlife experts.

According to the recent census, India’s tiger population increased to 3,682 in 2022, up from 2,967 in 2018. Statewise, Madhya Pradesh which is home to the highest number of tigers in the country at 785, reported highest casualties at 32 closely followed by Maharashtra where 29 predators have perished till date.

Maharashtra hosts 560 big cats. The two states combined accounts 60 predators’ deaths, which is nearly half of the total deaths reported from across the country. Madhya Pradesh continues to host the highest number of tigers in the country, at 785. Along with Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, which house 563, 560 and 44 tigers each, have reported bulk of India’s rise in tiger numbers. Karnataka, which hosts 563 tigers, witness 15 tiger deaths while Uttarakhand home to roughly 44 tigers, too recorded 15 deaths.

“These are the number of deaths that are actually reported. Many tigers die of natural causes inside the forest area and their deaths go unreported... the total number of tiger deaths in 2023 could be higher,” sources said. Last calander year, the NTCA reported death of 121 royal cats while in 2021, the country lost 127 predators.   

The government’s report too flags these concerns. India has 54 tiger reserves spread across 75,796 square kilometres. Approximately 35 percent of these reserves urgently require “enhanced protection measures, habitat restoration, ungulate augmentation, and subsequent tiger reintroduction,” says the All India Tiger Estimation quadrennial report.