Tiger Found Dead with Missing Paw in Madhya Pradesh

On August 22, 2025, a tiger was found dead with a missing paw in the Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh, near the boundary of the Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR). According to STR Field Director Rakhi Nanda, the tiger was found drowned in the backwaters of the Tawa river.

Preliminary investigations suggest this was a case of poaching, as the tiger was caught in a snare. The carcass was first spotted by a motor patrolling team on Friday morning, and the authorities have conducted a post-mortem as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority guidelines. Further investigation is ongoing.

This incident comes just two days after the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of the Forest Force (HoFF) Vijay Kumar Ambade raised concerns over the recent deaths of tigers and leopards in the state, flagging various lapses in wildlife security, including negligence and lack of patrolling during the monsoon season.

In a separate case, a 12-year-old tiger was found dead near the Lagda beat camp in the core area of the STR earlier this month, with officials attributing the death to a territorial fight between two big cats. Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey also highlighted another incident where a tiger carcass was allegedly cremated by some forest officials without proper documentation, exposing the lack of seriousness in investigating such cases.