Bengaluru: As many as 82 tigers died over a span of five and a half years in Karnataka before the government and forest department officials finally sat up and took notice. State forest minister Eshwar Khandre has now sought a detailed report on the deaths from forest department officials.
It was the recent killings of a tigress and her four cubs in the Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary recently that prompted ecologists and wildlife experts to check details available with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the state forest department.
Of the 82 deaths, 10 occurred in 2025. In the most recent case, the five tigers were poisoned just 100 metres from the road.
“Despite the tigers lying dead for days just 100 metres from the road, the personnel have not noticed the same. The place of death is about 800 metres away from the anti-poaching camp, the staff of which have not been paid for the last three months,” a report by the forest department states.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force) Meenakshi Negi has said that deputy conservator of forests Y Chakrapani, assistant conservator Gajanana Hegde and range forest officer Madesh have been sent on compulsory leave.
“Of the 82 tigers that died, how many died of natural causes? How many deaths were unnatural and what was the probable cause? Has there been a probe into such cases?” the forest minister has now wanted to know.
Khandre also expressed concern over the killing of the big cats for their body parts, especially claws and canines.
“If some parts of the body were missing, was there an investigation? What’s the current status of the investigation in such cases?” he has asked.
The minister said the report should also provide details of the action taken against officials in case of negligence. The direction set a 10-day deadline for the submission of the report containing all the details.
Before the death of five tigers, at least two big cats had died under suspicious circumstances, but the department is yet to investigate the same. In February, the carcass of a tiger with a pellet injury was found in the Ambaligola dam in Shivamogga’s Sagar taluk.
A radio-collared tiger was also found dead in Jyoti Katte pond in Belur. Wildlife activists have noted that the deaths have not been investigated properly.
The NTCA has issued clear guidelines to ensure that the causative factors for tiger death are ascertained and taken to a logical conclusion in the interest of tiger conservation.
