Rescued Tiger Found Dead In Madhya Pradesh, 28th Casualty This Year

A recently rescued two-year-old tiger was found dead in the buffer area of Madhya Pradesh's Panna Reserve, a forest official said on Tuesday.

This is the 28th tiger casualty in the state, home to nine tiger reserves, since January 7 this year.

The carcass of the tiger was recovered from the Amanganj buffer area, the official said.

He said that the tiger, recently rescued from Tara village, was fitted with a radio-collar and was constantly being monitored.

"The carcass found on Monday was intact, and no suspicious activity was observed nearby. The situation will become clear only after an inspection of the site," said Brijendra Srivastava, field director, Panna Tiger Reserve.

Terming the tiger's death as a state failure, wildlife activist Ajay Dube, in a post on 'X', said, "This isn't just unfortunate — it's a systemic collapse. The lack of stern action against forest officials is the root cause of these repeated killings. High-tech collars mean nothing if the boots on the ground aren't doing their jobs." According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), 28 tiger mortalities were recorded from Madhya Pradesh since January. The first tiger death was reported on January 7 at the Bandhavgarh reserve.

As per the 2022 census, Madhya Pradesh had 785 tigers, the highest in the country. 

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