The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests noted that 35 tigers and 115 leopards died between January and September 2025
In Maharashtra, 142 tigers and 534 leopards have died in the last three years. According to the Nagpur Forest Department, most of the tigers and leopards have died due to poaching, accidents and electrocution. Officials of the wildlife department are very worried.
According to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 142 tigers and 534 leopards were killed in Maharashtra between January 2022 and September this year. This information was given by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) of Nagpur.
According to the PCCF, 35 tigers and 115 leopards died from January to September 2025.
In 2022, 29 tigers died. In 2023, 52 tigers were killed. In 2024, 26 tigers died. Of the 35 tigers that have died so far in 2025, 21 are normal. 5 died due to accidents. 5 died due to electrocution and poachers. The exact cause of death of the remaining 5 tigers is yet to be ascertained.
Of the 142 tigers killed since 2022, 84 are normal. The cause of death was 23 accidents. At least 29 tigers were killed by poachers. The cause of death of 6 tigers is unclear. Tiger experts estimate that poachers have tied electric wires to the edge of the forest. The tiger died in it.
As many as 112 leopards have died in Maharashtra since the beginning of 2025. Of these, 44 leopards died naturally. The cause of death was 42 accidents. 2 were killed by poachers. 3 leopards were electrocuted. 21 died of other causes. According to the data provided by the PCCF in Nagpur, 144 leopards died in 2024, 138 in 2023, and 140 in 2022. An official of the wildlife department said that the carcasses of the tigers and leopards that died in the accident were recovered from the highway or railway tracks.
