The Maharashtra government informed the Assembly that the state has recorded 41 tiger deaths in the year 2025, raising fresh concerns among conservationists and wildlife authorities. In neighboring Madhya Pradesh, eight tigers have died in just 10 weeks or 2.5 months spanning 2025 and early 2026 in the Bandhavgarh reserve, according to a report submitted to the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Maharashtra tiger deaths
Forest Minister Ganesh Naik told the Maharashtra Assembly on Thursday, February 26, that the majority of the 41 tigers have died due to natural causes and the government was intensifying efforts to curb the deaths due to accidents, electrocution, and poaching.
The minister mentioned that of the 41 tigers, 28 died due to natural causes, eight others due to accidents, four due to electrocution, and one due to poaching.
Highlighting the vulnerability of the Ballarshah-Gondia railway line, the Maharashtra minister said that five tigers have lost their lives between 2011 and 2025 due to the line. Also Read | 72 tigers die in deadly virus outbreak in Thailand; popular tourist attraction Chiang Mai park closed — What we know
“To prevent the deaths of wild animals in railway accidents, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Regional), Chandrapur, has formally communicated with the Railway Department to implement specific safety measures,” Ganesh Naik stated in his reply.
Bandhavgarh tiger deaths
The status report mentioned that while four tigers died within the reserve, the remaining four lost their lives in the ‘general forest area.’
Within the Bandhavgarh reserve, all four tigers died of natural causes – between November 21, 2025, and February 2 this year. While two died of mutual conflicts, one drowned in a well and another succumbed to a disease.
The other four died due to electrocution.
What is government doing?
In Maharashtra, the minister has proposed construction of underpasses and overpasses on newly-proposed railway lines; enforcing a speed limit of 40 kmph for trains passing through sensitive forest zones; Appropriate disposal of food waste by train passengers to ensure animals are not lured toward the tracks, PTI reported.
Bhopal-based wildlife activist Ajay Dubey had filed the petition.
According to the petition, the tiger population in the world is 5,421, of which 3,167 are in India. As per the latest census, Madhya Pradesh has 785 tigers, it said. Despite being a tiger state, 54 tigers died in Madhya Pradesh in 2025, said the petition.
The state had reported 43 tiger deaths in 2022, 45 in 2023, and 46 in 2024, Dubey said. The highest number of tiger deaths in the state since the launch of Project Tiger occurred in 2025, the petitioner claimed.
