MP has highest mortality rate of tigers
   Date :09-Jul-2019

 
Staff Reporter:
 
Madhya Pradesh having highest 14 tigers’ death cases during year 2017
 
Out of 657 tigers’ deaths across country from 2012 to 2018, 222 are poaching cases
 
 
Though Madhya Pradesh is desperate to get back its status of ‘Tiger State’ in National Tiger Estimation but at the same time State has highest number of tigers’ death cases too. In past seven years, 41 tigers have been poached in Madhya Pradesh. Since year 2012, 141 tigers have died in out of which only 78 cases were of natural death. The data of tigers’ death was revealed in a recent tiger mortality report released by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). According to NTCA, in Madhya Pradesh nine spots including Bhopal, Hoshangabad, Panna, Mandla, Seoni, Shahdol, Balaghat, Betul and Chhindwara forest areas have highest number of poaching cases. Six tigers died in territorial fight and accident cases.
 
 
 
 
As per the report, from year 2012 to 2018, 657 tigers have died out of which 222 died of poaching. Wildlife enthusiast said that tiger corridor and forest areas in Karnataka and Uttarakhand areas are spread over large acre land and residential areas are far away but in Madhya Pradesh, forest areas are not over big acre of land due to which poachers easily reaches to the animals. Experts found two main reason for the higher number of tigers’ death in MP.
 
They said farmers around Kanha National Park and Pench Tiger Reserve use electric wire to secure their crops as boundary wall and it takes the lives of tiger easily. Electrocution and dispersal are the main reason of tigers’ death in MP. Besides, population of tigers is higher in Pench Tiger Reserve, Kanha National Park and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, but at the same time, forest covers in these areas are not appropriate. Territorial fight among tigers is increasing due to lack of space. Experts said that in Karnataka and Uttarakhand, there is a huge distance between jungle and residential areas while on other side in Madhya Pradesh, residential areas are inside the jungle due to which people easily get information of wildlife and their interference is too disturbing the animals.