In a shocking revelation, as many as 76 tiger deaths have been reported in the country from January to October this year. According  to report, Madhya Pradesh is at the top of the list, accounting for nearly a third of all mortalities. Karnataka, which boasts the highest tiger population among states, is in second spot with 13 deaths. The national mortality figure is the highest since 2010; 69 tiger deaths were reported in the whole of 2015. Conservationists have raised the alarm on poaching, given the rise in cases of seizure of tiger body parts across the country this year.

Twenty seizures were registered in the country till November, also the highest since 2010. One such seizure was made last month in Gondia district in Maharashtra. The data has been released by ‘tigernet’, a collaborative effort of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and TRAFFIC-India.

While 41 of the 76 deaths are still being investigated, the remaining have been attributed to direct or indirect human intervention — including poaching, poisoning, electrocution, road accidents and elimination by authorities — besides tigers attacking each other and natural causes.