Bhopal: According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, 26 tigers have died so far in the year 2020 in Madhya Pradesh, which has the status of ‘Tiger State’. But on this, Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Vijay Shah said that the average death rate of tigers in the state in the last six years is less than their birth rate. According to the website of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, a total of 26 tigers have died in Madhya Pradesh so far this year, out of which 21 tigers have died in the tiger sanctuaries of the state, while five tigers have died in other forests.
Bandhavgarh: What is becoming a graveyard of tigers
The highest number of 10 tigers have died in Bandhavgarh Tiger Sanctuary. In the year 2019, 28 tigers were killed in the state and the body parts of three tigers were seized from the possession of poachers. According to statistics, Karnataka, which has the second-highest number of tigers in the country, has killed eight tigers so far this year and recovered the body parts of two tigers. Meanwhile, Karnataka lost 12 tigers last year.
Vijay Shah: The cause of death of a large number of tigers, the battle for supremacy
Shah said, “Currently, there are 124 tiger cubs in Madhya Pradesh. Tiger cubs were not counted during the National Tiger Assessment Report 2018. We will have more than 600 tigers in the next count of tigers. ” “We have more tigers and less area for them,” he said. If we take the example of Bandhavgarh Tiger Sanctuary, it has 125 tigers, while only 90 tigers can be kept in it. ” Shah attributed the deaths of a large number of tigers in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Sanctuary to the battle between them over their territory and dominance.
Madhya Pradesh: A major ‘Tiger State’
It is noteworthy that according to the National Tiger Assessment Report 2018 released on July 31, 2019, with 526 tigers, Madhya Pradesh has regained its lost status of the prestigious ‘Tiger State’ after eight years from Karnataka. Earlier, even in the year 2006, Madhya Pradesh had the status of Tiger State due to having 300 tigers. But the number of tigers was reduced to 257 in the year 2010 due to alleged hunting etc., due to which Karnataka had snatched the status of Tiger State from Madhya Pradesh. Then there were 300 tigers in Karnataka. Meanwhile, in the year 2014, the number of tigers in Madhya Pradesh increased to 308. But Madhya Pradesh had slipped to third place in the country in the number of tigers after Karnataka (408) and Uttarakhand (340). According to the National Tiger Assessment Report 2018, the highest number of 526 tigers in the country was in Madhya Pradesh, while Karnataka is in second place with 524 tigers. Thus, Madhya Pradesh regained the status of ‘Tiger State’ by jumping two notches.
Lack of special tiger protection force in Madhya Pradesh, protection of tigers is difficult:
Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey said that there is a lack of a special tiger security force in Madhya Pradesh. “We have filed a petition in the high court for the formation of a special tiger protection force, which is pending,” he said. There is such a special force in Karnataka. This is how the tigers are protected there. ” Dubey said that the central government had asked the states to form a special tiger security force in 2006 and had also offered to bear the cost, but Madhya Pradesh has not yet formed it. He said that there are five tiger sanctuaries in Karnataka and the number of tigers there (according to the last count) was only two less than Madhya Pradesh, while there are about six tiger sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh. Dubey said, “Madhya Pradesh should learn from this.” He said that earlier this month, a tiger was allegedly hunted and buried in the Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh. He said some people have also been arrested in the case. Dubey said the severed head of a tiger was also found at Panna Tiger Sanctuary last month. This shows that hunters are also hunting tigers in the sanctuary.
No matter what is written on the papers, the figures are shocking, and he is pointing to the ruthless hunting of tigers. The regime will have to do something soon, otherwise, this mighty king of the forest will not become an endangered creature again. Then the regime has an excuse for a ‘battle for dominance’ when they die. There is a need to correct the forest laws or else ‘this splendor of the forest’ will ‘question’ us in a ‘questionable vision’. Yes, no one will complain, after all, the ‘King of the Jungle’ who stayed.
