34 Tigers die In 2 months across country, 8 from Maharashtra

As many as 34 tigers have died in the two months of January and February in the country. Eight of these tigers have died in Maharashtra, and six are from Chandrapur district alone. The increasing death of the tiger has become worrisome and needs to be addressed urgently.

Hundreds of tigers are dying every year in the country. As many as 34 tigers have died in the first two months of 2023. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tiger deaths followed by Chandrapur district which has the highest number of tiger deaths. This is evident from the data provided by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. India has the highest number of tigers in the world at 2,967. It is followed by Russia 433, Indonesia 371, Nepal 355, Thailand 149, Malaysia 120, Bangladesh 106, Bhutan 103, China 55, and Myanmar 22.

The tiger is a very important animal in the food chain. The forest department plans according to the rules of the National Tiger Conservation Authority to ensure their proper protection and conservation. However, the forest department has still been unable to stop the tiger’s death.

There has been an increase in the number of tiger deaths since 2012. 88 tigers died in the country in 2012. 68 tigers have died in 2013, 78 in 2014, 82 in 2015, 121 in 2016, 117 in 2017, 101 in 2018, 96 in 2019, 106 in 2020, 127 in 2021, 121 in 2022 and 34 in the two months of January and February in 2023. It has been revealed that the cause of death of the tiger is poisoning, death due to electric shock, poaching of the tiger, and the mutual battle of the tigers. So the major challenge for the forest department is to prevent the deaths of tigers by taking concrete measures to check the rising tiger deaths.

The tiger was found dead in a well in a field in Bramhapuri taluka on January 3. The tigress which was rescued from the Shadow Range on January 4, had died during treatment at the Gorewada Rescue Centre on January 14. This was followed by electrocution in the field and a tiger died at Majri under the Bhadravati range on the night of January 14 and in a field under Ghosari Beat in the Pombhurna range on February 5. This was followed by the death of a fully grown tiger in a vehicle collision. The carcass of the tiger was found floating in the Pothra River on the outskirts of Warora Range on February 12. A fully grown tiger died in room number 278 in the buffer zone of the Tadoba Andheri Tiger Project on February 26. The deaths of six tigers in a span of two months raise a question mark on the safety of the forest department.