As the year 2025 comes to an end, tiger mortality and man-animal conflict still remain the prime issues before the Forest Department, addressing which will require proper mitigation efforts. Unfortunately, the department is lagging in curbing man-animal conflict and tiger deaths due to red-tapism. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Maharashtra recorded 36 tiger deaths in 2025 so far, making it the second-highest State in India for tiger mortality this year after Madhya Pradesh (48). Compared to the data of the last five years, this number is the second highest after 2023 which recorded an alarming 46 deaths in the calender year. This is a stark reflection of how mitigation has failed in aspects of saving tigers from human issues that still persist today. These numbers include every tiger death officially reported and verified by NTCA.

 

A major concern is where these deaths occurred. Out of the 36 deaths, around two-thirds (24) happened outside tiger reserves or protected areas (PA). This means most tigers died in areas such as forest fringes, close to farms, villages, roads and forest corridors, instead of core and buffer areas of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) or Umred Paoni Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary (UPKWS). As Maharashtra has third highest tiger population with 444 numbers, many big cats are moving into human-dominated landscapes, where the risks are much higher. The reasons for death also show worrying trends. Several tigers died due to electrocution, often from illegal electric fencing placed to protect crops. A number of cases were linked to road and railway accidents, especially in the Chandrapur and Brahmapuri divisions where roads and railway lines pass through forest areas.

 

There were also deaths from poisoning and retaliatory attacks after livestock was killed. Inside the PA, the causes were mostly natural — old age, disease and territorial fights. The high number of deaths outside reserves shows a deeper problem: tigers do not have safe spaces to move between forests. As 2025 ends and we step into a hopeful new year, Maharashtra faces a major challenge, protecting both people and tigers as they increasingly share the same space. The data makes one thing clear: Saving tigers now depends on keeping corridors safe and reducing conflict beyond the boundaries of tiger reserves. As the number of tigers increase and their need for their own territory increases the issue of man-animal conflict does not seem to have a satisfactory end, neither for the humans or the tigers.