* “Madhya Pradesh tops list for most deaths”

* “The death toll for the last two years numbered 237, which means an average of nine tigers died every month”

As many as 115 tigers died in India in 2017, making it the second straight year of tiger deaths crossing the 100 mark, according to a report by Mint, which cited official data.

The death toll for the last two years numbered 237, which means an average of nine tigers died every month,Of the total, 98 tiger fatalities were ascertained after the bodies were found, while 17 were on account of the tiger being presumed dead based on some of its body parts being found or seized by authorities.

The reasons for these deaths include poaching, poisoning, natural causes, fighting with other tigers, altercations with humans, and rail or road accidents.

The most number of tiger fatalities were recorded in Madhya Pradesh, which saw 28 tigers die last year. This was followed by Maharashtra, which saw 21 tigers die and Assam, which accounted for 16 of the deaths.

That being said, the tiger population estimate for 2018 is expected to start this month and according to the Mint report, it is expected to increase from last year’s levels.

With 2,226 tigers in the country at the moment, India accounts for nearly 60 percent of the global tiger population of around 3,890.

As a result of numerous initiatives by both NGOs and the government, population of tigers has been improving consistently since touching an all-time low of 1,411 in 2006.

However, experts maintain that every tiger death needs to be investigated if the threat to the endangered animal was ever to be addressed.

“Each case needs to be investigated properly to its logical conclusion. If the tiger deaths are due to natural causes then there is no point of worry. But if deaths are unnatural and due to poaching, it’s a matter of serious concern,” said SP Yadav, assistant secretary general at the Global Tiger Forum (GTF), an inter-governmental organization dedicated to tiger conservation.

“If it is so, we need to pull our socks and must adopt intelligence-based patrolling beside modern tool and techniques for monitoring and investigation,” Yadav said.

As an agenda, tiger conservation has been right up there with the others for the Indian government over the past few years. Only last month, the Indian government joined hands with our neighbours Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal to conduct a joint census of tiger population from here on.