IN the ‘Heart of India,’ the blazing stripes are not exactly burning bright. As 2025 draws to a close, 54 tiger deaths in a single calendar year have put Madhya Pradesh, the Tiger State of the country, under the spotlight.
Since the launch of Project Tiger in 1973, this is the single highest annual tiger mortality figure for any state—a record MP would not like to associate with. In December alone, six deaths were reported.
According to the MP Forest department’s wildlife wing, the first death was reported from the Obedullaganj area of central MP’s Raisen district on December 7, where a nine-year-old tiger died due to a serious infection. Two days later, another big cat of nearly the same age died after being hit by a train in the neighbouring Ratapani Tiger Reserve.
More were to follow. On December 11, two cubs died after being possibly killed by an adult male tiger in Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve, and an adult female was found dead in the Katangi range of South Balaghat division in southeastern MP. Another adult female’s death in the Chandia range of MP’s Umaria district, around 30 km from the buffer zone of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR), which houses the densest tiger population in the state, rocked the state. An illegal high-voltage fence turned out to be a death trap for the tigress. As many as six Baiga and Kol tribals were later arrested for the killing.
Amid allegations of poaching, organised illegal wildlife trade in body parts, and intense conflict along the fringes of tiger reserves—where big-cat populations have grown without a commensurate protection framework—the 54 tiger deaths have snowballed into a major issue for Madhya Pradesh, which also prides itself on being the country’s Cheetah, Leopard, Wolf and Gharial state.
“Madhya Pradesh has 785 tigers as per the last census, but it has also topped the country in tiger deaths for the past 15 years,” said Bhopal-based wildlife activist Ajay Dubey. “It leads in poaching and accidental deaths as well. Despite housing nine tiger reserves, not a single field director has been held accountable for repeated fatalities.”
Dubey pointed to the Umaria electrocution and said complaints of illegal tree felling and wildlife deaths due to electric traps had surfaced earlier too. “A wild boar was electrocuted in the same area days before. Had the Forest Department been alert, this tiger’s death could have been prevented.”
Burning controversy
This year’s tiger mortalities —first time the 50 mark was breached — were 17 per cent more than the 46 deaths reported in 2024. Needless to say, the opposition Congress has trained its guns on the BJP government in MP.
“The situation is particularly alarming since Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav himself holds the Forest Department portfolio. Holding wildlife events and making big claims are not going to save tigers. The CM and his government will have to act against poachers and wildlife smugglers while also addressing road and rail hits,” state Congress spokesperson Abhinav Barelia said.
MP’s Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dilip Ahirwar said the department was alive to the situation. “The department takes every tiger death seriously. Each death is investigated, and action is taken based on findings. In the latest case, electrocution has been established as the cause of death, and six persons have already been taken into custody,” he said.
Dubey was quick to point out that the government has failed to constitute the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF), mandated by the NTCA in 2009, which states like Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu have already implemented. “Even meetings of the state tiger cell have not been held for over two-and-a-half years,” he added.
Alarming situation?
On December 12, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) and head of forest force (HoFF) VN Ambade shot off a letter to the entire Forest department, including field directors of tiger reserves and divisional forest officers, citing lapses and negligence in wildlife conservation due to which tiger and leopard deaths were particularly on the rise.
“It is also unfortunate that remains of tigers (possibly due to poaching) and other animals have been seized in various tiger reserves, which reflects the negligence of officials and employees. Detailed enquiries should be conducted into all incidents, followed by strict action against the responsible staff. No negligence in forest and wildlife security will be tolerated,” Ambade made clear in the official letter.
As the controversy over tiger deaths rages, statistics present a disturbing reality. As per data from the Forest department’s wildlife wing, 38 tigers (70 per cent) died due to natural causes this year. As many as 10 (18 per cent) fell to unnatural causes (read poaching-related deaths). In six cases, seizures of body parts were reported.
The poaching and wildlife trade numbers are a concern, especially since in 2024, out of 46 deaths, 89 per cent were due to natural causes and just five deaths (11 per cent) were due to unnatural reasons.
Former PCCF (wildlife) JS Chauhan was of the view that with the tiger population rising steadily, deaths were bound to occur. In 2018, MP became the country’s Tiger State with 526 tigers, and the number jumped by more than 49 per cent to 785 in the next census. Anything beyond 70 deaths a year should be a cause of worry.
“When the tiger population rises steadily, the death count will also increase proportionately. The situation becomes concerning once the number of unnatural deaths — poaching and accidents —turns abnormally high. However, we must remain alert and focus on reducing unnatural and poaching-related deaths.”
Electrocution deaths
What has emerged as a growing concern is electrocution. Setting up high-voltage electric fences and traps to target animals, particularly wild boars, nilgais, chitals or blackbucks, has escalated into a major challenge for the Forest department, especially in corridors with heavy tiger movement.
“Such illegal fencing or traps are set up either for bush hunting or to protect crops from wild animals, which are potential prey for tigers. Seven out of the 10 unnatural deaths this year were found to have been caused by electrocution. The traps may have been set for other animals but ended up killing tigers,” MP’s PCCF (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden Subha Ranjan Sen said.
Analysts point out that the slow pace of compensation for crop loss caused by wild animals is a major reason farmers resort to illegal electrified fencing. The Revenue Book Circular Volume 6, particularly Clause 4 (RBC 6-4), governs financial compensation for farmers for crop damage by wild animals. The norms stipulate 25 per cent crop damage as the threshold for compensation eligibility. Besides, there is no provision for compensation if crops are trampled upon but not consumed.
“We know of many cases where farmers have been awaiting compensation for years. It is the Revenue department which assesses the crop and makes the payment; the Forest department merely assists farmers in filling up the necessary forms,” Sen said. However, with the Centre now including crop loss due to wild animals under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana, he felt the situation may improve.
“Though we have been intensifying patrolling and monitoring in villages located in tiger-ranging areas, it is not enough. We are working with the Electricity department on installing equipment to safeguard vulnerable areas. But using insulated aerial bunched cables or underground electric lines in forest areas remains the best solution to stop illegal tapping and deadly electric traps,” Sen said.
Train accidents are another worry. The Budhni–Midghat rail section passing through Ratapani Tiger Reserve remains a cause for concern, where the December 9 tiger death was reported. As many as 13 leopards and four tigers were killed in rail accidents between March 2015 and March 2024. A third line between Barkheda and Budhni was cleared only after the Railways agreed to put in place necessary infrastructure, but very little has been done, including chain-link fencing, underpasses, tunnels, signage and speed control measures.
Dubey felt CM Yadav must step in. “The CM needs to immediately take up the issue with the Railway Board and the Railway Minister to implement long-awaited safeguards,” he said.
Way forward
According to Chauhan, tiger deaths cannot be entirely prevented, especially when the population is continuously rising. The focus should be on curbing poaching, illegal trade and electrocution deaths.
“If over 50 tigers have died, 200–250 cubs might also have been born in the state, of which around 50 per cent will survive. Our focus should be on completely eliminating unnatural deaths,” he said.
Multi-pronged protection efforts including scientific management of forests and tiger reserves, adequate prey base, sustained habitat improvement and continuous strengthening of protection mechanisms—must form the core strategy. The government must ensure that core areas of new reserves remain inviolate, enabling them to accommodate surplus tigers from saturated reserves.
“Another focus must be on strengthening and securing active tiger corridors, which will allow dispersing tigers from reserves with strong population dynamics like Kanha, Pench, Bandhavgarh and Satpura to maintain connectivity with source populations elsewhere, ultimately ensuring better gene flow,” Chauhan added.