Wildlife group’s data shows 13 more tiger deaths in 2021

A tiger at Sanjay Gandhi National Park. File pic/Nimesh Dave

A wildlife group's data on tiger fatalities shows there were 139 deaths last year, 13 more than what National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) reported last week.

Sarosh Lodhi, Conservation, Lenses and Wildlife (CLaW) co-founder and a conservation photographer, told mid-day, "In 2021, 139 tigers died as per our data, while NTCA reported 126 mortalities." He added that 2021 registered a 33 per cent rise in tiger deaths in comparison to 2020 (106 deaths).

The NTCA report mentions two entries, of August 25 and of December 21, as mortalities whereas those were part seizures - body parts recovered from poachers, he said.

"We get information about the previous year's mortality/seizures until the end of the first quarter of the ongoing year. Hence the report is subject to change," Lodhi said.

CLaW prepares its report with the help of forest department officials, newspaper reports and local inputs. As per its data, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh account for 54 per cent of the total mortality in 2021.

While NTCA reported 26 tiger deaths in Maharashtra, CLaW puts the toll at 32.

Call for better conservation

Kedar Gore, wildlife conservationist and The Corbett Foundation's director, said, "Tiger conservation does not only mean creating reserves and managing critical habitats. Our policies should offer equal protection to tigers in buffer areas, corridors, territorial and other forest divisions. Unless people see economic, social and ecological benefits in tiger conservation, and are made a part of inclusive conservation models that address human-wildlife conflict with utmost priority, long-term tiger conservation will be a distant reality."

Randeep Hooda, actor and wildlife conservationist, said, "The growth in the number of tigers is resulting in increasing human-animal conflict. The thoughtless linear infrastructure is further cutting important corridors. This restricts the dispersal of wildlife, leading to infighting and unnatural territories. Sensitisation of infra ministries and local population is the only way forward."

32
No. of tiger deaths in Maha, as per CLaW report