Guwahati: At least 1,059 tigers have died in India since 2012 with Madhya Pradesh having the highest death toll.
Madhya Pradesh, also known as the “tiger state,” is responsible for 270 of those deaths.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) reports that so far this year, 75 tigers have died, compared to 127 in 2021, the highest amount between 2012 and 2022.
According to official data, 106 tigers may pass away in 2020, compared to 96 in 2019, 101 in 2018, 117 in 2017, 121 in 2016, 82 in 2015, 78 in 2014, 68 in 2013, and 88 in 2012.
Apart from Madhya Pradesh, 183 tigers died in Maharashtra, 150 in Karnataka, and 96 in Uttarakhand.
In addition, the states with the highest reported number of tiger deaths during that time were Assam (72), Tamil Nadu (66), Uttar Pradesh (56) and Kerala (55).
Also included on the list are Rajasthan (25), Bihar (17), West Bengal (13), Chhattisgarh (11) and Andhra Pradesh (11).
While Madhya Pradesh recorded 68 tiger deaths over the past 1.5 years, Maharashtra recorded 42 tiger deaths during same time.
It should be mentioned that Madhya Pradesh, which had 526 tigers won the title of “tiger state” in the 2018 tiger census, followed by Karnataka, which had 524 tigers.
In the meanwhile, between 2012 and 2020, poachers claimed the lives of 193 tigers. Authorities documented 44 deaths from “unnatural” reasons and 108 deaths attributed to “seizures” during that time.
According to NTCA, poaching is first regarded as the cause of all tiger deaths.
Supplementary details like autopsy reports, forensic and lab reports and circumstantial evidence are gathered for closing a particular case as either ‘natural’, ‘poaching’ or ‘unnatural but not poaching’.
The burden of proof for a case’s status as natural or poaching falls on the state. If there is any ambiguity, despite the facts, poaching is blamed for the death.