Over 50% tiger deaths since 2021 occurred outside tiger reserves

New Delhi: More than half of the tiger deaths in India between 2021 and 2025 so far have occurred outside protected reserves, with Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh accounting for the highest numbers, government data shows.

According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), 667 tigers died during this period, of which 341, or 51 per cent, were outside tiger reserves.

The year-wise data shows 129 tiger deaths in 2021; 122 in 2022; 182 in 2023; 126 in 2024 and 108 so far in 2025.

Deaths outside reserves were 64 in 2021; 52 in 2022; 100 in 2023; 65 in 2024 and 60 in 2025 so far. Maharashtra reported the highest number of deaths outside reserves at 111, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 90.

In 2021, Maharashtra recorded 23 such deaths, Madhya Pradesh 18, Kerala five and Telangana four.

In 2022, Maharashtra saw 18 deaths, Madhya Pradesh 12, and Kerala and Uttarakhand four each.

In 2023, 34 tigers died outside reserves in Maharashtra, 13 in Madhya Pradesh, 11 each in Kerala and Uttarakhand, and six in Karnataka. In 2024, Madhya Pradesh logged 24 such deaths, while Maharashtra reported 16.

So far this year, 20 tigers have died outside reserves in Maharashtra, 13 in Madhya Pradesh, eight in Kerala and seven in Karnataka.

The NTCA data also shows that 1,519 tigers died between 2012 and 2024, of which 634, or 42 per cent, were outside reserves.

Currently, about 30 per cent of India's estimated 3,682 tigers live outside notified tiger reserves.

To address the growing human-tiger conflict in these areas, the government plans to soon launch the Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) project, which will cover 80 forest divisions across 17 states.