380 tiger deaths since 2020 in India as population increases

Country has more than 70% of world's tiger count, expenditure on conversation project dipping

India has recorded 380 tiger deaths since 2020, as a state-backed conservation project is awaited to give reasons for the fatalities.

There were 127 deaths in 2021: the highest in a decade. There have been 26 deaths this year, shows data as of the second week of February. The deaths are higher than in the corresponding period in previous years. There were 18 deaths at the same time in 2022 and 21 in 2021.
 

Madhya Pradesh recorded 270 tiger deaths in the period between 2012 and 2022 (data up to July), the highest in the country. It was followed by Maharashtra (184 deaths) and Karnataka (150).

There were fewer deaths due to poaching in 2020, shows data from the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Just 7 tiger deaths were as a result of poaching in 2020, a significant reduction compared to 34 in 2018. Data on the cause of death is only available till 2020.

India has more than 70 per cent of the world’s tiger population. The country had an estimated 2,967 tigers in 2018—there was a census then—and that number was a significant increase from 1,706 in 2010. Though the census data for 2022 is awaited, the tiger population is expected to cross 3,000 according to some estimates.

The tiger population is concentrated in Central India, the Eastern Ghats, and the Western Ghats. About 2,014 tigers inhabit these regions.

Project Tiger, a centrally sponsored programme, began in 1973 to protect the tiger from extinction and ensure a viable population in its natural habitats.

Expenditure on this programme has come down in recent years as tiger numbers have gone up. The Centre is expected to spend Rs 188 crore on the project in the ongoing financial year compared to Rs 323.44 crore in 2018-19