DEHRADUN: The deaths of 14 tigers in a short span of five months in Uttarakhand have raised concerns among top wildlife officials.
Director General of Forest C P Goyal has sought an update from Uttarakhand forest department officials in this regard and asked them to submit a report at the earliest.
According to information available and updated on the website of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the first case of tiger death was reported on January 23 this year.
"Two more tigers have died in the state this month, taking the death toll to 14 in the last five months," said a forest department source. Of the 14 deaths, 10 are from forest divisions in Kumaon including the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
An inquiry has already been ordered by the chief wildlife warden of the state forest department in this regard, but the final report is still awaited. According to departmental sources, in some cases the DNA report of the killed tigers has not yet been received by the forest department, so the final report is delayed.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Chief Wildlife Warden Sameer Sinha said, "The investigation into tiger death cases has been handed over to Kumaon chief PK Patra. They had submitted their report. After studying the report, information has been sought on some more points on it. The final report is expected in two-three days. After the test, it will be handed over to the government. However, the involvement of poachers in any of the cases has not been confirmed so far. All the organs of the tigers have been found safe."
According to information available on the website of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the first death was reported on January 23 this year when a tiger was found dead in the Dhela range of the Corbett Tiger Reserve here. The second case is also from Nainital, the third is from Fatehpur range of Kumaon Terai region, fourth from Haldwani forest division, fifth from Ramnagar forest division, sixth from Corbett Tiger Reserve, seventh from Lansdowne forest division under Kalagarh division, eighth from Corbett Malani range, ninth from Sona river range of Kumaon and tenth from Chilla range of Rajaji Park.