Tiger found dead with paw missing in Madhya Pradesh, poaching suspected

A tiger has been found dead with a paw missing in Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh, on the boundary of the Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR), forest officials said on Friday (August 22, 2025).

STR Field Director Rakhi Nanda told The Hindu that the tiger was found drowned in the backwaters of Tawa river in Badh Chapda. The carcass was first spotted by a motor patrolling team on Friday morning.

Also Read | 20 tourists left stranded by guide in Ranthambore tiger safari; probe ordered

“We suspect it to be a case of poaching after our preliminary investigation. The tiger was caught in a snare. We have conducted its post-mortem as per the NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) guidelines and further investigation is now under way,” she said, adding that it is yet to be ascertained whether the big cat was killed and thrown into the water or the carcass washed into the water from elsewhere.

A case has been registered under the relevant provisions, she said.

Earlier on August 12, a 12-year-old tiger was found dead near the Lagda beat camp in the core area of the STR. The officials had attributed the death to a territorial fight between two big cats.

Several cases of tiger and leopard deaths have been reported in the State in the past few weeks, including one big cat dying of electrocution in the Sanjay Tiger Reserve on August 20.

A tiger was also found dead in the Sonewani Wildlife Sanctuary in Balaghat district on July 27 and the carcass was allegedly cremated by some forest officials without documenting the death.

Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey said that the matter only came to light after some local people circulated pictures of the dead animal, prompting higher authorities to suspend a deputy ranger and a forest guard, and registering a case against six other beat guards.

“When I came across the matter, I reported it to the senior forest officials in Bhopal after which they swung into action. The villagers had only alerted the local officials about the death but instead of investigating the matter, the body was burnt without a post-mortem or any documentation,” he added.

The latest incident comes just two days after the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of the Forest Force (HoFF) Vijay Kumar Ambade wrote to the forest officials across the State, highlighting recent deaths of tigers and leopards, while flagging various lapses in wildlife security, including negligence and lack of patrolling during the monsoon season. Five or six such deaths have been reported in 20-25 days.

Mr. Ambade, “Despite such a strong system, so many deaths of tigers and leopards in a short time raises questions on the forest and wildlife conservation system.”

“When there is a conflict between tigers, their roar is heard far away. In such a situation, the local staff not being informed after the death of a tiger indicates that the security system is not strong. Surveillance is maintained through M-STrIPES [monitoring system for tigers], monsoon patrolling etc., yet it is not appropriate to not have information after the death of tigers,” Mr. Ambade said, in a letter seen by The Hindu. He also flagged “serious negligence” in the Balaghat incident and termed it “extremely shameful and regrettable”.

He asked the forest officials to give top priority to forest and wildlife protection to avoid such incidents in future.

Mr. Dubey said that the recent deaths, irrespective of the nature, “expose the intel failure” of the forest department.

“During monsoon, there are very few tourists visiting the forests which is why preventive action and proactive patrolling is required as the risk of poaching increases. But the recent incidents clearly show the lack of seriousness of officials,” he added.