Madhya Pradesh: Tiger found dead in Sagar Forest, state’s toll rises to 55

BHOPAL: A tiger was found dead in a forest area of Sagar district on Sunday, taking the tiger death toll in Madhya Pradesh to 55 by the fag end of the year.The carcass was found near Hilgan village under the Dhana range of the South Forest Division. Local residents informed the Forest Department, after which a team reached the spot.Senior forest officials later arrived and a security cordon was established around the carcass. Veterinary doctors were called to carry out the examination.South Forest Division officers said no external injury marks were found on the tiger’s body during the preliminary check. A post-mortem examination is being conducted to ascertain the cause of death,” said an officer, adding that it was not yet clear how the tiger reached the area.Forest officials said the tiger was a male, estimated to be around eight to ten years old. The department is also checking the animal’s movement in the surrounding forest areas and whether it had been present in the Dhana range earlier.Reacting to the incident, wildlife activist Ajay Dubey said, “The cycle of tiger deaths in Madhya Pradesh shows no sign of stopping. With 55 tigers lost in the state so far this year, there appears to be no accountability. The discovery of yet another tiger carcass in Dhana, Sagar—suspected to be from the Nauradehi Tiger Reserve—raises serious questions about who will take responsibility for this growing crisis.”Taking serious note of the rising number of tiger deaths, head of the Madhya Pradesh forest department V N Ambade had recently written to all senior forest officers across the state, directing them to treat wildlife protection as the top priority and warning that negligence will not be tolerated.In his letter to all chief conservators of forests, field directors of tiger reserves, divisional forest officers and the director of Van Vihar National Park, Ambade said that despite repeated instructions, the number of tiger and leopard deaths has increased in recent months. He pointed out that animals have died due to electrocution, road and rail accidents, and other avoidable causes.The letter directed forest officers to coordinate with agencies such as the Railways and prepare action plans to prevent such incidents in future. Ambade also ordered that all recent wildlife deaths be properly investigated and that strict action be taken against officials found negligent.