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India's Big Cat Crisis: 200 Poached in Just Over a Decade
23 Feb
Summary
- Nearly 200 big cats poached across India between 2005 and late 2025.
- Central India identified as major poaching hotspot with 59 cases.
- International demand for body parts is driving wildlife crime.
Data obtained through a Right to Information request indicates that between 2005 and December 2025, India recorded poaching incidents involving around 200 big cats. Central India has been identified as a primary area for these crimes, with 59 cases reported in its habitats. Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of tiger poaching cases with 36 incidents.
Wildlife experts attribute the ongoing poaching crisis to significant international demand for tiger and leopard body parts, particularly in China and Southeast Asian nations. These experts also note that the reported seizure numbers likely represent only a fraction of actual poaching activities. While central India is a hotspot for tiger poaching, leopard poaching appears more widespread, with Himachal Pradesh registering the highest number of cases.
Conservationists suggest that the rise in leopard poaching could be linked to increasing human-wildlife conflict, exacerbated by habitat fragmentation and human encroachment on wildlife corridors. India is home to approximately 75% of the world's tigers and a substantial leopard population, making these poaching activities a severe threat to their survival.
