India lost 329 tigers in 3 years, including 29 due to poaching: Govt

Corbett has the highest tiger density among India’s 50 tiger reserves - with 14 tigers per sq km. (Image: Bob Brewer via Unsplash)

India lost 329 tigers in the last three years due to poaching, natural and unnatural causes, the government has said. As many as 307 elephants have died in this period due to poaching, electrocution, poisoning and train accidents, it added.

According to data presented by Union Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Kumar Choubey in Lok Sabha on Monday, 96 tigers died in 2019, 106 in 2020 and 127 in 2021.

The minister said 68 tiger deaths were attributed to natural causes, five to unnatural causes, 29 to poaching and 30 to 'seizure'. A total of 197 tiger deaths are under scrutiny, he added.

However, the number of poaching cases has reduced over the years -- from 17 in 2019 to four in 2021, the data showed. According to the data presented by the minister, 125 people have been killed in "tiger attacks" in this period, including 61 in Maharashtra and 25 in Uttar Pradesh.

The government said 222 elephants have died due to electrocution in the last three years, with Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Assam reporting 41, 34 and 33 such deaths, respectively. Forty-five elephants have died in train accidents. Odisha and West Bengal logged 12 and 11 such fatalities respectively.

The data showed 29 elephants have died due to poaching, including 12 in Meghalaya and seven in Odisha, while 11 elephants have died due to poisoning, including nine in Assam during the period.