Tiger count in Maharashtra surges to 444, minister informs legislative assembly

Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik on Wednesday said the states tiger count has surged to 444 this year from the 101 recorded in 2000 While speaking on the floor of the House during the Maharashtra Budget Session 2025 the minister also informed that the government has approved funds worth Rs 200 crore for solar fencing of villages near tiger habitats news agency PTI reportedThe ministet was replying to a debate in the state assembly on the issue of mananimal conflicts in a wildlife sanctuary near BhandaraNaik also stated that two people were killed in the area in tiger attacks this year PTI reportedHe assured the House that he would pursue the demand for fencing of villages which are close to forests and fall on the route of tiger movementThe number of tigers in the state has gone up to 444 now compared to 101 in 2000 Naik told the HouseCongress Legislature Party Leader Vijay Wadettiwar said there was anger among locals over tiger attacks reported PTIFarmers were living in fear as tigers and leopards destroy crops as well he saidMembers cutting across party lines expressed concern over the increasing incidents of humanwildlife conflict PTI reportedSpeaker Rahul Narwekar agreed to hold a meeting to discuss the issueMP recorded most tiger deaths since 2012 followed by MaharashtraBetween January 2012 and February 2025 1431 tiger deaths were reported across India More than 40 per cent of these were recorded outside protected areasMadhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of tiger deaths followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka Poaching and natural causes accounted for 227 and 559 deaths respectively while the National Tiger Conservation Authority NTCA data states that 406 deaths since 2012 are still being scrutinised A total of 106 tiger body parts were recovered in seizures to dateReferring to the period between January 2012 and September 2024 when 1386 tiger mortality events were recorded the NTCArsquos website states ldquoAs per the stringent conditions set by the NTCA all tiger deaths are considered lsquopoachingrsquo in the beginning Supplementary details like postmortem reports forensic and lab reports and circumstantial evidence are gathered to close a particular tiger death case as either natural poaching or unnatural but not poaching The figures indicate that 71 per cent of recorded tiger mortality cases have been closed after scrutinising the postmortem and forensic reports and 29 per cent of cases are pending under scrutinyrdquoThe NTCA site states that of the 1386 deaths half took place inside the tiger reserves and 42 per cent of tiger mortalities were recorded outside tiger reserves while seven per cent were seizuresTiger tollMadhya Pradesh recorded highest tiger deaths from 2012 to datemdash355 while Maharashtra recorded second highest figuremdash261 followed by Karnataka 179 Uttrakhand 132 Tamil Nadu 89 Assam 85 Kerala 76 Uttar Pradesh 67 Rajasthan 36 Bihar 22 Chhattisgarh 21 Andhra Pradesh 14 West Bengal 13 Odisha 13 Telangana 11 Goa recorded four deaths while Nagaland and Delhi recorded two each and Jharkhand Haryana Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh only recorded a single case eachGoing by data available between 2012 and September 2024 the highest deaths were recorded in January 166 followed by March 151 and May 140 The month of October had the lowest tiger deaths 70With PTI inputs