55 Tigers Died in Odisha in Past 10 Yrs; 23 Killed by Poachers

Bhubaneswar: at least 55 tigers, including seven Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT), have died in different forests of Odisha during last ten years, said state Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia in the Assembly.

While answering a question by Jharsuguda MLA Tankadhar Tripathy, the minister said, between 2014-15 and 2023-24,

23 tigers were killed by poachers, 4 were electrocuted, 2 died in train accidents, 3 in road accidents, 6 died due to other reasons including drowning and infighting, 5 succumbed to illness, 5 died due to old-age related ailments, and 7 died due to unknown reason.

Seven Bengal tigers died during the period, of which, 1 in Balangir forest division (2016-17), 1 in Similipal south division (2017-18), 1 in Bargarh forest division (2018-19), 1 in Satkosia wildlife (2018-19), 1 in Keojhar wildlife (2022-23) and 2 in Similipal south division (2023-24).

As per the state-level tiger census conducted in 2024, a total of 27 RBTs were spotted in Odisha, 24 of them in Similipal Tiger Reserve, 1 in Keonjhar Wildlife Division, 1 in Paralakhemundi and 1 in Hirakud Wildlife Division.