Madhya Pradesh, which is identified as the ‘tiger state’ of India, has lost 26 striped animals so far this year, as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Reacting to it, Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Vijay Shah told PTI that the typical death price of tigers was significantly less compared to their birth price in the state in the final six years.
According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA) web page, out of the 26 tiger deaths reported considering that April this year, MP lost 21 felines inside the tiger reserves, such as 10 in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.
No tiger death was reported in the initially 3 months of this year, as per the information.
In 2019, the state lost 28 tigers when 3 circumstances of seizures of physique components due to poaching had been also reported.
Karnataka, which is on the second position in the quantity of tigers in the nation, registered eight deaths and two seizures of tiger physique components this year, as per the information.
The southern state lost 12 large cats final year.
“Right now, MP has 124 tiger cubs. The cubs were not counted during the last census (in 2018). In the next count, we are going to have more than 600 tigers,” Shah stated.
“We have more tigers than the area for them. Take the example of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve-it has 125 tigers whereas it has the territory to house only 90,” he stated.
The minister attributed the large quantity of tiger deaths in Bandhavgarh to the territorial fight amongst the large cats for space and dominance.
Earlier, MP had lost the ‘tiger state’ tag to Karnataka in the all India tiger estimation exercising for 2010, mostly due to alleged poaching in the Panna Tiger Reserve.
That time, MP had 257 tigers compared to 300 in Karnataka.
In the 2014 tiger census, MP slipped to no.3 position in the nation with 308 striped animals immediately after Uttarakhand (340) and Karnataka (408).
However, MP regained the tag in the 2018 census with 526 large cats, two much more than in Karnataka.
Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey stated Madhya Pradesh lacks a unique tiger protection force.
“We have filed a petition in the high court for the formation of the special force which is pending. Karnataka has such a special force, thus tigers there are protected,” he stated.
The Centre in 2006 asked states to type the unique force and provided to bear its expenditure, but MP has not formed it, he noted.
Karnataka has 5 tiger reserves and the quantity of striped animals there (as per the final count) was just two significantly less than Madhya Pradesh, which has about six tiger reserves.
“MP should learn from this,” he stated.
A tiger was allegedly killed and buried in Shahdol district earlier this month, he stated, noting that some persons have been arrested in the case.
The recovery of a severed tiger head in the Panna Tiger Reserve final month suggests that poachers are operating in the wildlife regions, he stated.