A tiger along with her four cubs were found dead in the Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district on Thursday. The Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre ordered the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) to conduct a probe into the death and submit a report to him within a few days.

“The preliminary probe has revealed that the tiger and cubs have died naturally. If negligence by forest staff is proved, disciplinary actions will be taken against them. If this incident is confirmed to be the result of poisoning, I have instructed the officials concerned to register criminal cases against those involved,” said Minister Khandre.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the big cat might have consumed meat laced with a toxic substance.

This incident is particularly distressing for the state of Karnataka, which ranks second in India in terms of tiger population. The loss of tigers within a single day is a blow to the state’s wildlife protection achievements over the years.

A five-member expert team has been constituted to undertake a comprehensive necropsy. The area has been cordoned off and declared a protected zone. A high-level enquiry committee, headed by B.P. Ravi, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, has also been formed to submit a comprehensive report on the deaths within 14 days.

Human-Tiger Conflict in Ranchi

The area was a wildlife sanctuary, which meant that it was protected from any human disturbance. Human-animal conflict involving tigers has been reported in several other parts of the country as well.

In Jharkhand’s Ranchi district, a tiger strayed into a residential area and entered a house. He was tranquilised and relocated to the Palamu Tiger Reserve after an hour-long operation by Forest Department officials. The adult male tiger was spotted on Wednesday morning in Maradu village in Ranchi by a child who quickly ran into her house, where the tiger followed her.

Jharkhand’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Paritosh Upadhyay, told national media that around 6:30 a.m., the Forest Department received information about the animal’s movement.

“Initial reports indicate that the tiger had taken shelter in someone’s house. It was later confirmed that the animal had entered the home of Puranda Mahto after being seen near a bamboo cluster behind the house,” said Upadhyay.

“There was no proper latch, so they held the door shut manually. A window in the room remained open. The plan was to escape through the main door if the tiger entered through the window, and that’s exactly what happened… As the tiger jumped through the window into the room, the family ran out and locked the main door from outside,” officials said.

Because of the human-tiger conflict in certain forest divisions in the country, the Union Environment Ministry has approved funding for the “Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves” pilot scheme to manage such conflicts better through enhanced monitoring and protection.

National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)

As per government officials and documents, the Executive Committee of the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) will approve in-principle funding on a pilot basis for one year for the scheme. The Executive Committee under the Environment Ministry will initially identify 8 forest divisions across 10 states on the basis of data recording human-tiger conflict. These shortlisted areas will get funds for technical interventions for protection and monitoring of tigers and their co-predators. Forest managers will address the conflict with technology, collaborations with civil society and expert veterinarians, and augmentation of prey base.

The scheme will be implemented by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State Forest Departments on the ground in close collaboration with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

CAMPA’s Executive Committee has also directed the NTCA to furnish a revised year-wise estimate and seek approval from the governing body of CAMPA for funding the proposed outlay of the scheme till 2026–27, which is ₹880 crore. This was initially announced and discussed on March 3 during the National Board for Wildlife meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The National CAMPA Authority manages the monies collected in the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund. The fund has also partly financed other wildlife projects such as the Great Indian Bustard Recovery Project and Project Cheetah.

Tigers Out of Reserves in India

With nearly 30% of the country’s area having over 3,600 tigers outside tiger reserves, these tigers often prey on cattle and herbivores near human settlements. This increases the chances of human interface and conflict. Being a territorial animal, they also push out co-predators like leopards to areas outside the forest, adding to further conflict risk. Official data suggests that 382 people were killed in conflict with tigers between 2020 and 2024, including 111 in 2022 alone.

This trend is often seen outside territorial forests in Chandrapur near Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, in sugarcane fields near Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, and in Ranthambore and Wayanad in Kerala.

“Man-animal conflict is a big challenge. I was in Dudhwa a couple of days back, and there were two kinds of problems—there is man-animal conflict and also tigers outside tiger reserves, which too is a challenge. We see this in Tadoba, Dudhwa, Kabini, Ranthambore. In the coming times, we will work on tigers outside tiger reserves,” said Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, mentioning the new scheme on conserving tigers outside tiger reserves.

The minister was present at the Indian Conservation Conference at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.