On June 26, a tigress and four cubs were found deceased in Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary (MMWS) in Chamrajanagar district, Karnataka, sparking concern among conservationists. The carcasses were spotted in the Meenyam range of MMWS by forest guards on their morning patrol. While the cause has not yet been identified, initial investigations by the forest department revealed that they were unnatural deaths.
The state’s Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre has ordered B.P. Ravi, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) to conduct a probe into the cause of death and submit a report. The area where the carcasses were found has been cordoned off as a crime scene. Veterinarians and forest officials have obtained comprehensive tissue, blood and stomach samples for toxicology, histopathology (examination of tissue samples to detect diseases), and DNA profiling tests.
As per reports, the carcass of a cow was found close to the location and it is suspected that these tiger deaths might be a result of a poisoned carcass. As parts of MMWS are often used as grazing ground by locals, the forest department has begun tracking shepherds in the area.
“The forest department hasn’t paid the salaries of forest watchers since the past three months, and this may have brought down their morale and efficiency on the job,” said Joseph Hoover, a former member of Karnataka State Board for Wildlife, and current president of the non-profit United Conservation Movement. “Moreover, compensation for livestock killed by tigers is only paid when it occurs outside the protected area, since grazing is not allowed inside. This may have triggered a retaliatory killing.”
The incident isn’t a novel one – the larger landscape of Bandipur, Nagarahole and M.M. Hills is ridden by human-wildlife conflict as humans and predators struggle to coexist. Among Indian states, Karnataka is home to the highest number of tigers in the wild after Madhya Pradesh, with 563 tigers recorded in the 2022 All India Tiger Estimation. From 2012 to 2024, a total of 179 tiger deaths were recorded in Karnataka by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), including both natural and unnatural deaths – the third highest tiger mortality rate among Indian states.
Debate regarding largely unresolved tiger deaths recorded in MMWS in the recent past has been reignited – numerous cases of poison, snares and other tools being deliberately used to kill or harm tigers and leopards have been reported. In 2019, a proposal was submitted to the NTCA to notify MMWS as Karnataka’s sixth tiger reserve, and was accepted in 2021. However, the state government has been delaying the pending notification, which could open up avenues for strengthening conservation efforts in this crucial tiger landscape.
Banner image: A tigress and cubs. Representative image by Davidvraju via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
