At least 11 tigers have died across the country in the last two months due to various reasons, including poaching and poisoning, the government said on Monday.
In reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said while two tigers died due to infighting inside Corbett in Uttarakhand and Kaziranga in Assam, one was found poisoned in the Pench tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
“Six tiger deaths were reported from outside the tiger reserves in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Arunanchal Pradesh, Bandipur, Assam and Karnataka/Tamil Nadu border in January and February this year,” the minister said while quoting the data made available by the states.
According to government statistics, last year a total of 66 tigers died, including 46 inside the tiger reserves across the country.
The minister said the government had released Rs 197.24 crore in 2009-2010 against Rs 154.73 crore in the previous year to 17 tiger range states for relocation of villagers as well management and protection of the tiger reserves in the country under the Tiger Project.
According to the last census, there are around 1,411 tigers left in the country.
