Kaziranga remains a critical stronghold for tiger conservation in India, but the recent deaths underscore the growing challenges of managing a thriving population within a limited landscape.
An adult tiger with a radio collar was found dead in the Rani Durgavati Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, India, prompting concerns about the safety and management of the reserve. The death, attributed to a territorial fight, has led to allegations of negligence and calls for investigation.
To protect tigers, Rs 50 crore has been allocated to the National Tiger Conservation Programme.
After more than three decades, Gujarat has regained the status of a 'tiger-present state', with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) confirming the presence of a tiger in the state.
A delegation from Botswana visited Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh to review preparations for the translocation of cheetahs from Botswana. The team expressed satisfaction with the quarantine facilities and other arrangements.
Noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil, known for his work on the conservation of Western Ghats, has passed away in Pune after a brief illness. He was 83.
"The calf, the only tusker which had survived the accident, died this morning while undergoing treatment at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Kaziranga," Nagaon Division's Forest Ranger Shamim Akhtar told PTI.
2023 was the worst for the tiger population, recording the highest number of mortalities in a decade with 178 tigers dying.
Expressing sorrow over the incident, Khandre immediately ordered an investigation into the matter, which will be led by a team under the principal chief conservator of forests.
Sonia Gandhi criticizes the Modi government's environmental policies, claiming they endanger the Aravalli hills and disregard environmental protection.
The Centre has rejected claims that the new definition of the Aravalli range will allow large-scale mining, asserting that 90 per cent of the region will remain protected and citing a Supreme Court-ordered freeze on new mining leases.
Thapar had strong reservations about Project Cheetah, India's initiative to reintroduce African cheetahs into the wild. He argued that India does not have the necessary habitat or prey base to support free-ranging cheetahs and that the authorities lacked experience in managing spotted felines in the wild.
Big cats housed in various sanctuaries across the country will soon have their own 'identity cards' specifying their profile, a step that will enable authorities keep track of their movement and help in tiger conservation.
The tribal communities, asserting their rights under the Forest Rights Act, are now planning to gather in Delhi to demand "justice" for their livelihoods and traditions that are closely linked to the forests.
A message board inviting readers to share stories/pictures of tiger sightings.
A senior Madhya Pradesh minister has sought a law that allows people to domesticate or keep big cats like lions and tigers as pets, for their conservation.
The recent assessment of tiger population is based on determining spatial occupancy of tigers throughout potential tiger forests and sampling such forests using camera traps in a statistical framework, Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment and Forests S Regupathy said in a written reply. However, the minister said this assessment is not comparable to the earlier total count using pugmarks owing to several shortcomings.
Tigers and leopards, accorded highest protection under the Wildlife Act, may now be killed with due permission from authorities if they pose a threat to human life or are disabled or diseased beyond recovery.
26 tigers have already died this year.
After three cheetahs died in just over a month last year in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, the National Tiger Conservation Authority in May 2023 called in experts from Reliance's wildlife facility in Gujarat to review health monitoring protocols, official records show.
Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Monday said the state government will pay the hospitality bill of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had come to Mysuru in April last year to commemorate 50 years of Project Tiger, which runs up to Rs 80 lakh.
India has lost 1,059 tigers since 2012 with Madhya Pradesh, which is known as the 'tiger state' of the country, recording the highest number of deaths of striped felines.
The Centre has set up an 11-member high-level steering committee to review and monitor the progress of the cheetah reintroduction programme and provide suggestions on the opening of the cheetah habitat for eco-tourism.
This is the highest number of tiger deaths in three years.
With a 50 per cent increase in the last four years, Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number (785) of tigers in the country, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444), according to the data.
A Supreme Court-constituted panel has asked the Union environment ministry to amend or withdraw the guidelines related to setting up zoos and safaris within tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries to discourage the use of wildlife habitats for tourism activities which are non-site specific.
An old male tiger, known as 'BTR-63', has died in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, taking the death toll of the big cat in Madhya Pradesh to 21 since last May.
India is set to bring eight cheetahs from Botswana in two phases, with four arriving by May 2025. This follows the successful reintroduction of cheetahs to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, with the population now at 26, including 14 cubs born in India. The initiative aims to boost cheetah conservation efforts and create inter-state collaboration for their protection. The project has already seen significant investment, with over Rs 112 crore spent on cheetah rehabilitation.
As India celebrates its growing tiger population, Sonil Dedhia/Rediff.com shares some incredible moments he has spent in the proximity of tigers over the years.
Sri Lanka stays with you not just in memory, but gently reminds you what a society can achieve when heart and heritage guide the way.
More than two dozen officials of the Uttarakhand forest department have been transferred following allegations of large scale felling of trees and illegal constructions in Corbett Tiger Reserve's buffer zone.
Have you encountered a tiger? Tell us about it!
For better surveillance of KazirangaNational Park, the National Tiger Conservation Authority of the Union Environment and forests ministry will undertake test flights of unmanned aerial vehicles over the KNP from on Monday.
A new study has indicated that methods commonly used in censuses of tigers and other rare wildlife put the accuracy of such surveys in doubt.
e Madhya Pradesh government has spent Rs 560 crore in the last 15 years to shift villagers living within and around various tiger reserves and sanctuaries.
The legislation was passed with as many as 27 amendments.
Expressing surprise over the reports that China was planning to lift its ban on trade in tiger parts, India has sought clarification from a United Nations forum in which China a few days ago had pledged to the contrary.
The latest death reports came at a time when a team formed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority is probing the big cat deaths in the state.
Environment ministry is organising various programmes at Sesaipura related to Project Cheetah.