SPIKE IN TIGER DEATHS PUTS MADHYA PRADESH GOVERNMENT IN THE DOCK

After two tiger cubs were found dead in Sanjay Tiger Reserve last week, the tiger mortality has climbed to 50 this year, the highest annual toll since 1973.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

Madhya Pradesh’s tiger mortality has climbed to 50 this year, the highest annual toll since Project Tiger began in 1973, after two tiger cubs were found dead in Sanjay Tiger Reserve this week.

Forest officials said the carcasses, estimated to be around nine months old, were discovered during routine patrolling and bore injuries suggesting an attack by an adult male tiger. A team of veterinarians conducted postmortem examinations and sent samples for forensic analysis. The incident occurred on the night of 10-11 December, according to officials familiar with the inquiry.

The count had earlier risen to 48 after a tiger was found dead just days ago in Katangi, Balaghat, pushing the state beyond previous mortality highs even as authorities continue to investigate the networks linked to poaching and trafficking.

Data reviewed by this newspaper show that eight tigers were killed in confirmed poaching incidents, most of them involving electrocution through live wires and snaring methods concentrated in Pench, Bandhavgarh, Seoni, Balaghat and Kanha between January and July. In several cases, forest teams recovered electrical cables, nylon loops and other trapping material from the sites, indicating structured hunting operations rather than opportunistic activity. Injuries on the carcasses, including burns and jaw fractures, were consistent with high-voltage current traps laid around field edges and forest boundaries.