Panna, Madhya Pradesh
The deaths of two tigers in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve in the last ten days have posed a serious challenge for the forest administration in the state.
Yesterday, on November 10, a three-year-old tigress named P-213 (63) was found dead at Amanganj buffer’s Rampura beat. Forest officials informed Gaon Connection that the tigress was pregnant and the two unborn cubs died with her. Prior to this, on November 1, a male tiger named Heera died and was skinned in Satna district. Both these tigers were radio collared and their untimely deaths have raised questions on the tracking and monitoring of the big cats in Madhya Pradesh.
The loss of tigers is even more significant as it concerns Madhya Pradesh’s reputation as being the state with the highest number of tigers in India — 526, according to the 2018 census report titled Status of Tigers, Copredators and Preys in India. Karnataka, with 524 tigers narrowly missed the top spot in the list of states with tiger population.
Panna Tiger Reserve’s Area Manager Uttam Kumar Sharma told Gaon Connection that no signs of illegal activity were found at the site of P-213 (63) tigress’ death.
“The animal’s autopsy was conducted by Sanjeev Kumar Gupta Wednesday (November 10) evening and it was revealed that the tigress was pregnant at the time of death. Her two cubs also died,” the official told Gaon Connection.
“The tigress was cremated on the same day in the presence of Indrabhan Singh — a representative from National Tiger Conservation Authority,” Sharma added.
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Wound infection suspected
Although there is no confirmation on the cause of the tigress’ death, there are indications that a wound sustained by the big cat while hunting a prey resulted in a deadly infection or the inability to hunt further leading to starvation.
“The tigress’ carcass was found with a wound on its neck. There were maggots inside the wound as well. We cannot be sure but this wound could have possibly led to the animal’s death. The samples extracted during autopsy have been sent for further testing and the arrival of its report will confirm the cause of death,” Sharma told Gaon Connection.
Loss of female tigers concerning
The loss of female tigers is especially concerning as it risks the efforts to increase the population of the endangered specie.
There have been three deaths of female tigers in the last 18 months in Madhya Pradesh.
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Hanumant Singh, former member of the National Wildlife Board, told Gaon Connection that the loss of a pregnant tigress is a big loss for the environment at large.
The wildlife enthusiast also raised questions about the purpose and effectiveness of radio collars that are set up on the animals.
“Despite being radio collared, the monitoring team of the forest department failed to understand that the tigress is in a wounded condition and needs help. If she could have been tracked timely, she could have been saved,” Singh told Gaon Connection.
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“Last year also, a radio collared tigress P-213 was found dead under suspicious circumstances. She was the most popular tiger in the forest and was named Rani. Her carcass was found in a decomposed condition,” he added.
Lack of space for tigers
The tiger census data shows that the number of tigers in Madhya Pradesh have increased from 300 in 2006 to 526 in 2018. But according to forest officials, the increase in tiger population is now posing a challenge.
Area Manager Uttam Kumar Sharma told Gaon Connection that the increase of tiger population is resulting in lesser area for tigers’ territory.
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“These many tigers have never been found in the Panna Tiger Reserve. With such unprecedented numbers, it becomes difficult to look after each and every tiger. There are 30 tigress in the reserve, 14 out of which are fertile. Across the state, there are about 150 fertile tigresses who will give birth to at least 300 cubs,” he informed.
“Even if 150 of these cubs survive, do we have the forest area to sustain such a population? When the tigers fail to secure enough area under their territory, they approach human settlements which results in human-animal conflict,” Sharma added.
The forest official further informed that when these tigers disperse to other areas from the core area and pass through agricultural fields, contact with electrified wires results in their deaths.
“That is why tigers like Heera die,” he added.
