MP High Court Probes 54 Tiger Deaths

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve to submit the cause of death and postmortem reports for six tigers that have died this year. Concurrently, the MP forest department must provide a detailed investigation report concerning the 54 tiger deaths recorded in the past year, a figure noted as the highest since the Tiger Project's inception. These directives were issued by a division bench while hearing a petition on the alarming number of tiger fatalities in the state.

Advocates for the petitioner highlighted that six tigers died recently in the Shahdol district and within the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, with at least four deaths on January 7, 8, 16, and 20, and two more on February 2. It was argued that these deaths were not natural and were likely caused by electrocution or other unnatural incidents. The petition also cited official data indicating that approximately 57% of deaths in Bandhavgarh are unnatural, attributed to poaching, electrocution, or unknown circumstances, despite Madhya Pradesh having the highest tiger population in India.