Two tigers died of electrocution in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district on Sunday after coming into contact with live wires laid by local farmers to protect crops from wild animals, forest officials said.
Officials said the body parts of the two tigers - one male and the other female - were found intact, suggesting that their deaths were not due to poaching.
Shahdol divisional forest officer (DFO) Taruna Verma said the forest department received information on Sunday night about a tiger’s carcass in the Karpa beat area of Jaisinghnagar.
“Upon reaching the spot, the forest team found a carcass of a tigress also just 200 meters away. Both carcasses were found close to each other in the revenue area,” Verma said.
Madhya Pradesh principal chief conservator of forests Subhranjan Sen said a case would be registered against the responsible farmers for the death of the tigers under the Wildlife Protection Act.
“As the body parts were not tampered with, we have ruled out poaching for trade. However, this remains a serious crime. The dog squad and expert teams are currently scouring the area for further evidence,” he added.
In the first few weeks of 2026 alone, 11 tigers have died in the state, accounting for more than half of the 21 tiger deaths recorded across India.
{{/usCountry}}In the first few weeks of 2026 alone, 11 tigers have died in the state, accounting for more than half of the 21 tiger deaths recorded across India.
{{/usCountry}}This follows a devastating 2025, which saw 56 tiger deaths in Madhya Pradesh—the highest annual toll since the inception of Project Tiger.
The surge in fatalities recently prompted wildlife activist Ajay Dubey to file a petition before the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court over the state’s inability to protect the big cats. The court has issued notices to the forest department.
India is home to 3,167 of the world’s 5,421 tigers, according to the All India Tiger Estimation - 2022. Madhya Pradesh leads the country with a population of 785 tigers.