11 of 74 tiger deaths in India this year were reported in Karnataka: NTCA
According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), 74 tigers have died in the country since January this year, of which 11 deaths were recorded in Karnataka. Five of the deaths were reported in the state’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve, four in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve and one each in Anechowkur Wildlife Range and DB Kuppe range, it said.
Last year, Karnataka reported 15 tiger deaths, the state forest department said, adding that two cases of poaching were also reported in the state last year. Earlier this year, six men were apprehended by the department for trying to sell the skin, paws and claws of a tiger in the buffer zone of the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, chief wildlife warden Vijaykumar Gogi said, “Most of these cases (deaths) are due to old age and territorial fights. Karnataka has one of the highest numbers of tigers. Two cases of poaching were reported last year. Moreover, some of the tigers which are old and cannot sustain in the forest or cannot breed are sent to the forest department’s rehabilitation and rescue centre. Some of the sub-adult tigers are also put in rehab if they sustain injuries in territorial fights. Once they are at the rescue centre and treated over a long period of time, sometimes it is difficult to rehabilitate them back in the forest since they lose their natural hunting instinct.”
Madhya Pradesh has reported the highest number of tiger deaths so far this year at 27, while Maharashtra recorded 15, Assam (5), Kerala and Rajasthan four each, three in Uttar Pradesh, two in Andhra Pradesh, while it is one each in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Bihar.
In the 2018 Tiger Census, Madhya Pradesh had emerged as the tiger state of India with 526 tigers, followed by Karnataka which accounted for 524 tigers.
