Maharashtra Tiger Crisis: 41 Deaths in 2025

In 2025, Maharashtra witnessed a significant spike in tiger mortality, with 41 tigers succumbing to various causes, an increase from the 26 deaths recorded in the preceding year. Natural causes were cited for 28 fatalities, while eight tigers died in accidents, four from electrocution, and one due to poaching. Over the past decade, 272 tiger deaths have been documented across the state's forests.

To mitigate wildlife fatalities, particularly those involving trains, the forest department has proposed several measures to the Railways. These include constructing underpasses and overpasses along new railway lines, ensuring proper waste disposal from trains, and enforcing a speed limit of 40 kmph in sensitive forest zones. These actions follow incidents like five tiger deaths on the Balharshah-Gondia railway line between 2011 and 2025.

Conservation efforts are being bolstered with enhanced habitat protection and increased patrols by the Special Tiger Protection Force. To combat poaching, field staff are equipped with advanced monitoring devices, and surveillance is intensified through camera traps and check posts. Efforts are also underway with the electricity distribution company to prevent electrocution deaths, alongside strengthening the Wildlife Crime Cell in Nagpur and a cyber cell at Melghat Tiger Reserve.