State Records 36 Deaths of Big Cats This Year
Bhopal: A male adult tiger was on Friday found dead in a reserve forest under Narmadapuram district in Madhya Pradesh.
With this, the state recorded the death of 36 tigers, the highest in the country, in the current year so far, according to the website of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
The tiger was found in the backwater of river Taba adjoining Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR) by a patrolling party on Friday, field director of STR Rakhi Nanda told this newspaper.
“One of the paws in the carcass was missing. It is a case of poaching. A snare has been found in the area. A dog squad has been deployed (to nab the poachers)”, the forest officer said.
The area where the carcass was found belongs to the state forest development corporation and adjoins STR.
This was the second tiger death in the area in the last ten days.
According to the NTCA website, as many as 115 tigers have died in various reserves in the country in the current year so far.
Incidentally, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) and head of the forest force of Madhya Pradesh, Y N Ambade, wrote a letter to the STR field director a couple of days ago expressing concern over the death of five-six tigers and leopards in the reserve in the past 25 days.
The PCCF has directed the STR FD to strengthen the security and patrolling system in the reserve to ensure protection of the big cats.
The STR has recorded the death of four tigers in the last eight months.
In June 2023, the carcass of a headless tiger was found in the same area.
Madhya Pradesh, incidentally, has earned the tag of ‘Tiger State’ for housing the highest number of tigers at 785 in the country.
