India lost nearly 166 tigers in 2025, majority deaths outside protected areas says NTCA report
Hubballi: India lost nearly 166 tigers in 2025, the second-highest toll recorded in the past five years, with around 60% of the deaths occurring outside protected areas, according to data compiled by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Madhya Pradesh, which has the country’s highest tiger population at 785, reported the maximum number of deaths at 55. It was followed by Maharashtra with 38 deaths, Karnataka 15, Kerala 13 and Assam 12. As per the 2022 All-India Tiger Estimation, Karnataka had 563 tigers, Uttarakhand 560 and Maharashtra 444.
Officials and experts attribute the rising number of deaths to shrinking habitats and an expanding tiger population, which has led to several reserves reaching saturation levels. NTCA data indicates that nearly 70% of the deaths were due to natural causes, primarily territorial fights among tigers.
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Deccan Herald reported that wildlife experts have also raised concerns over the increasing use of electric fencing across the country, which has resulted in fatalities not only among tigers but also elephants, leopards and other wildlife. However, they point out that tiger mortality of less than 5% of the overall population is not considered alarming, especially given India’s high tiger numbers.
Qamar Qureshi, former nodal officer with the Wildlife Institute of India-NTCA Tiger Cell, said the mortality figures do not indicate a crisis. “Due to lack of space, many tigers are dispersing outside protected areas, which lead to accidental deaths of both humans and tigers. However, the numbers are not alarming. India has an excellent reporting mechanism, which ensures that every death is recorded. Unnatural tiger deaths have come down drastically,” he said.
In a significant shift, the NTCA has begun recording tiger cub deaths as well. While such deaths were earlier excluded due to high natural mortality rates among cubs, the authority reported 31 cub deaths in 2025.
India was home to at least 3,682 tigers as per the 2022 census and the country recorded its highest tiger mortality in 2023 with 182 deaths, followed by 166 in 2025, about 40 more than the previous year.
Karnataka reported three incidents of unnatural tiger deaths in 2025, resulting in the loss of three adult tigers and four cubs. Eight other tigers died due to natural causes. Officials clarified that this figure does not include five cubs that died after being shifted to a rehabilitation centre following rescue operations.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) P C Ray said perceptions around tiger deaths often ignore population dynamics. “Counting cub deaths along with adult tiger mortality does not give a correct picture. The birth and survival rates in Karnataka are much higher than the mortality rate. Most female tigers are giving birth to three to five cubs a season due to better protection and food availability. Even with a 50% survival rate, the tiger population in the state remains substantial,” he said.
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Modi govt could give neither clean water, nor clean air, making public suffer: Kharge
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps trumpeting the Jal Jeevan Mission but was silent on deaths caused by contaminated water in Indore.
He alleged that the Modi government and the BJP failed to provide either clean water or clean air to the country. "
Narendra Modi ji, who never gets tired of trumpeting the Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, is maintaining his usual silence on the deaths caused by drinking contaminated water in Indore.
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"This is the same Indore city that has clinched the 'Cleanest City' title for the eighth consecutive time in the central government's Swachh Sarvekshan survey. It's a shameful state of affairs that, due to the BJP's incompetence, people here are desperate for clean water," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
For 11 years, he said, the country was fed nothing but long speeches, lies and deceit, empty promises, and boasts about the "double-engine" government.
"When ministers are questioned, they resort to abuses and intimidation. Drunk on the arrogance of power, they turn the tables on the journalists.
"The entire machinery swings into action to cover up the misgovernance of BJP governments," he said.
Kharge said that all the government's schemes were mired in corruption and foul play, and said that 10 per cent of the Jal Jeevan Mission fund was allocated for purifying contaminated water.
"The Modi government and the BJP have failed to provide either clean water or clean air to the country. The common people are the ones suffering," the Congress chief said.
At least 10 people died of a diarrhoea outbreak caused by contaminated water in the Bhagirathpura area of Indore.
On Thursday, Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Madhav Prasad Hasani said laboratory reports from a city medical college confirmed contamination of the drinking water supply to the locality due to a leakage in a pipeline.
The CMHO did not share the detailed findings of the report.
Officials said a leakage was found in the main drinking water pipeline near a police outpost in Bhagirathpura, at a spot over which a toilet has been constructed.
More than 1,400 people have been affected by vomiting and diarrhoea in Bhagirathpura over the past nine days.
