Nearly 74 tigers died in India in six months

Increasing Tiger mortality in the country

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News - India & You

June 29, 2016

/ By / New Delhi

India & You



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The big cat's habitat is now limited to 7 pc of its original range. Poaching of the tiger is not the only reason for deaths but there are several other issues and all these can be referred to as loss of the quality of tiger habitat.

The big cat’s habitat is now limited to 7 pc of its original range. Poaching of the tiger is not the only reason for deaths but there are several other issues and all these can be referred to as loss of the quality of tiger habitat.

India witnessed an increase of 500 tigers in April 2016 but things seem to be a little topsy-turvy with the death of about 74 tigers in the country.

The global population of wild tigers increased by almost 22 pc in April 2016, and India was at the forefront of this conservation effort where the country alone witnessed an increase of more than 500 tigers during a six year period. But here is another side of the story.

At least 74 tigers have died in India between January 1 and June 26, 2016, with maximum number of 19 deaths in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and Uttarakhand took the second spot with nine deaths each, while Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of deaths on account of poaching.

Among the 74 tigers, 14 were electrocuted, poisoned or killed by poachers. According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), police and wildlife authorities found skins, bones, claws, skeletons, canines and paws of another 16 tigers during this period.

26 tigers were found dead due to diseases, old age or unexplained circumstances. As per the statistics, remaining 12 tigers were victims of infighting, 2 faced tiger-human conflicts, 3 died in road or train accidents and one was killed in a fight with other animal.

Poaching and other concerns

According to WPSI, in the past three and a half years, tiger poaching has been reported from 15 Indian states including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

Among them, the majority of cases are from Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

“Most of the time our frontline staff in protected areas are not even aware of the modus operandi of poachers. International cooperation is necessary to break the criminal nexus and reduce the demand of end-products in China and South-East Asian countries,” Tito Joseph of Wildlife Protection Society of India, said.

Loss of habitat is another issue that restricts tiger conservation. “The big cat’s habitat is now limited to 7 pc of its original range. Poaching of the tiger is not the only reason for deaths but there are several issues and all these can be referred to as loss of the quality of tiger habitat. This can also include loss of prey, forest cover, connectivity etc,” conservation biologist Raghu Chundawat, said.

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