At least 52 tigers have died this year till April 4, highest in the last three years during the period with maximum number of deaths at 15 reported from Madhya Pradesh where most of the officials from the forests departments are engaged in keeping the imported Cheetahs within their home range in Kuno Palpur sanctuary.

Of these 52 mortalities, four occurred in the last four days itself. These included a cub and a female.

However, a senior official at the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Union Environment Ministry said this is no sign of concern as the mortality should be compared with tiger numbers. In a bid to draw home his point, a senior official said that “no tiger, no death. Less tiger, low death and more tigers more death, average age in the wild is 10-12 years.”

In the wild several factors like old age, diseases, internecine fights, high infant mortality, electrocution, snaring, drowning, road/rail hits etc. account for a majority of tiger deaths, shared another official.

According to the 2018 census report, India had 2,967 tigers. The much-awaited all-India tiger census report will be released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mysuru on April 9, on the occasion to mark 50 years of Project Tiger. According to the officials, there has been an upward trend in tiger numbers over the last five years. They claimed that the regions which had no tigers were showing a good presence.

As per the data available from the NTCA, of 52 tigers who died during over the first quarter of the year, maximum were from Madhya Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra. Sources said that Madhya Pradesh may lose the status of home of the highest number of tigers in the  country.

An analysis of the data shows that in the last four days from 1 April to 4 April, one tiger each has died. In Madhya Pardesh’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve an adult and a cub died in separate incidents, one death was reported from Kerala’s Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and in Maharashtra big cat died outside the village Pataguda.

Last year i.e. in 2022, a total 121 tigers died against 127 the previous year. In the last three years, tiger mortality has crossed the 100 mark annually in the country. In 2019, the country reported 96 tiger deaths.