NEW DELHI, 24 JUNE: Despite nationwide movements and campaigns to save tigers, 48 tigers have been reported dead in the first six months of this year and 19 cases have been clearly stated as cases of poaching.
What is worse, the number could be much more. According to Mr SP Yadav, deputy inspector-general of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), states are often scared of reporting tiger mortality and most cases of poaching are often passed off as natural death.
To counter the rising numbers of tiger deaths, NTCA recently issued a directive and has declared that all deaths will be treated as poaching unless proven otherwise. It has also ensured that one official from the conservation authority will attend each post mortem for transparency.
The year 2011 had seemed to lift up hopes with a decline of 57 per cent in tiger mortality. Thirteen tigers were hunted in 2011 as compared to 30 in 2010. The bodies of the poached tigers, the seized bones and skins were computed to arrive at the figures.
However, it has only been six months this year and 48 tigers have already been reported dead of which 19 have been proved to be cases of poaching. Details of other deaths are awaited and there may be a possibility that the cases of death caused by poaching shoot up.
In 2011, there were nine cases of seizures of body parts of tigers. In the first six months of 2012, the number of cases has exceeded nine.
“The strong demand for various tiger parts in countries like Thailand and Vietnam in south-east Asia has led to an increase in poaching in India's tiger reserves. Conflict with villagers who live in the vicinity of the reserves also leads to the killing of tigers,” said Mr Yadav. The highest rates of tiger mortality have been at the Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand and at the Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra.
Tigers have an average life span of 8 to 10 years. Almost 18 to 20 per cent of tigers die natural deaths. According to the May 2011 census, India hosts a majority of the world's tiger population which is around 1,700 tigers.
Mr MKS Pasha, co-ordinator of TRAFFIC India, said: “Poaching of tigers is still a biggest threat. Delay in reaction time often results in failure.” He also said that such seizures never occur at the same place and women are generally used to transport the body parts of the poached animals.
The NTCA is also undertaking intensive patrolling by monitoring data from camera traps for any disappearances from tiger reserves.
