New Delhi(Agenices): As
many as 750 tigers have died in the country in the last eight years due to
poaching and other causes, with Madhya Pradesh reporting the highest casualties
at 173, according to an official data.
Of these total tiger mortalities,
369 were due to natural causes, 168 due to poaching, 70 deaths are under
scrutiny and 42 due to unnatural reasons, including accident or conflicts
events, it said.
There was also seizure of 101 big
cats during the eight year period between 2012 and 2019 by different
authorities across the country, the National Tiger Conservation Authority
(NTCA) said in reply to an RTI query filed by this PTI correspondent.
The NTCA was asked to share the
details of tiger deaths between 2010 and May 2020. However, it provided data
only for the eight years beginning 2012.
Environment, Forest and Climate
Change Minister Prakash Javadekar had in December said that tiger population in
the country has increased by 750 in the last four years from 2,226 to 2,976.
"Now the tiger count is
2,976. We must be proud of our whole ecological system. Tigers have increased
by 750 in last four years," Javadekar had said in Rajya Sabha in reply to
a supplementary question.
Of the highest of 173 deaths
reported by Madhya Pradesh during this period, 38 were due to poaching, 94
natural deaths, 19 under scrutiny, six due to the unnatural causes and 16
seizures, the data said.
Madhya Pradesh has the highest
number of 526 tigers in the country.
Maharashtra has reported second
highest deaths, as it lost 125 big cats during this period followed by 111 in
Karnataka, 88 in Uttarakhand, 54 each in Tamil Nadu and Assam, 35 each in
Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, 17 in Rajasthan, 11 in Bihar and West Bengal and 10
in Chhattisgarh, it said.
Seven each such deaths were
reported in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, five in Telangana, two each in Delhi and
Nagaland, and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat, the NTCA said.
Giving details of tiger deaths
due to poaching, it said Maharashtra and Karnataka lost 28 tigers each due to poaching,
17 in Assam, 14 in Uttarakhand, 12 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Tamil Nadu, six in
Kerala and three in Rajasthan, among others.
The NTCA did not provide the
details of action taken in these tiger death cases in response to the RTI
application.
When asked about the details of
missing tigers in the country, it said the information was not available with
it and suggested the applicant to contact Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of 18
states having tiger reserves to get the desired information.
Wildlife activists have expressed
concerns over 750 tiger deaths between 2012 and 2019 and supported stricter
wildlife provisions to punish the guilty.
“It is a matter of grave concern
that tigers in such a large numbers have died due to poaching and other
reasons. There is a need for stricter penal provisions for those found guilty
of wildlife crimes,” said Bhopal-based wildlife activist Ajay Dubey.
He said conservation efforts need
to be expedited to save the big cats from poachers.
“Much attention is paid on tiger
tourism by state governments concerned which is affecting their natural
habitat. There is a need to speed up the efforts to conserve tiger. Government
must make harsher punishment for wildlife related crimes,” Dubey said.
Echoing his views, Simrat Sandhu,
member of Rajasthan wildlife board, said conviction rate for wildlife crimes is
quite low.
“There has to be a provision of
life imprisonment at least for grave wildlife related crimes like poaching of
tigers. Also, the state governments must take the case of missing tigers
seriously and trace them so that poaching of these big cats can be avoided,”
Sandhu said.
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