Deaths of two tigers have been reported in the Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) of Madhya Pradesh in just four days of the new year. The situation in the previous year was not good either: 11 feline deaths were reported in the State in the year 2015.
Once a tiger State, Madhya Pradesh failed to learn lessons from past mistakes.
In the first incident, reported from the PTR, the carcass of a 4-5 years old full grown tiger was found near a lake in Umari village of Deolapur range. In the second incident, also reported from the PTR, a 4-year old male tiger, probably while chasing its prey, fell into a well near Simariya village in Vijaypani forest circle of Ghatkhoka range. This location comes in the buffer zone of the PTR. Apparently, the tiger fell into the well as there was no boundary wall of the required height of three feet.
Wildlife and rights activist Ajay Dubey while talking to 'The Pioneer' said, "These deaths are shocking and show the need for additional protection to be provided to tigers and leopards outside tiger reserves, particularly in the wildlife corridors."
Dubey further said that the tiger casualties could be much higher than the official records in the wake of increased presence of poachers in Madhya Pradesh. "The forest department has failed to act sternly against the poachers and the striped feline is paying the price for that," he added.
Notably, in the year 2015 Madhya Pradesh lost 11 tigers owing to a variety of reasons while in the year 2014 the former 'Tiger State' had seen 14 tiger mortalities.
With 11 tiger deaths, MP was placed at number three in terms of tiger mortalities among 11 Indian States blessed with these gorgeous striped cats. Karnataka with 15 and Maharashtra 12 deaths lead the list of tiger mortalities, according to the figures compiled by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Interestingly, Madhya Pradesh is placed at number three according to tiger census figures announced last year and the central Indian State also featured at number three in terms of big casualties. According to the tiger census undertaken by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), MP had 308 tigers.