Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said on July 25 that:
- A total of 628 tigers died in India during the past five years due to natural causes and other reasons, including poaching.
- According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), 96 tigers died in 2019, 106 in 2020, 127 in 2021, 121 in 2022, and 178 in 2023.
- The number of tiger deaths in 2023 is also the highest since 2012.
- 349 people were killed in tiger attacks during this period, with Maharashtra alone recording 200 deaths.
- 49 people each were killed in tiger attacks in 2019 and 2020, 59 in 2021, 110 in 2022, and 82 in 2023.
- The number of tigers in India stood at 3,682, around 75% of the global wild tiger population, in 2022.
- India launched Project Tiger on April 1, 1973, to promote tiger conservation. Initially, it covered nine tiger reserves spanning 18,278 square km.
- Currently, India has 55 tiger reserves covering more than 78,735 square km, nearly 2.4% of the country’s geographical area, of tiger habitat.
