India is home to 70% of the world’s tigers. According to National Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) statistics, India lost 24 tigers between 1 January to 8 February. The fatalities were recorded from the states of Madhya Pradesh (9), Maharashtra (6), Rajasthan (3), Karnataka (2), Uttarakhand (2) and one each from Assam and Kerala.
It is being said that most of the tigers have died due to ‘natural causes’, which include conflicts between tigers over their territory and increasing age. However, the officials say that they are checking the data to ensure that the tigers aren’t dying because of poaching and hunting.
An NTCA official said, “There are more than 3,000 tigers across the country, in which few deaths are normal, but the high number of deaths in a short span of time is a big deal and hence is being probed as per protocol.
The year-wise trend of tiger mortality events recorded for the period 2012-2023
Source: NTCA website