Bhubaneswar: Odisha reported at least eight Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT) deaths between 2014 and 2023-24, while 57 leopards were killed during the same period, govt data revealed.
According to the forest department, two RBTs and 21 leopards were killed due to poaching, while the rest died from electrocution, traps, accidental hits by vehicles, and natural causes.
A melanistic RBT in Similipal was reportedly killed due to infighting, officials said.
“Leopards have mostly died due to electrocution traps laid by poachers to kill wild boar. Very few cases of targeted leopard killing for hide have been reported,” said Susanta Nanda, principal chief conservator of forests, Wildlife.
The RBTs were found dead in Similipal Tiger Reserve, Satkosia Tiger Reserve, and Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary.
Officials said that between 2020-21 and 2023-24, maximum leopard deaths were reported. The deaths occurred in prominent forests such as Mahanadi Wildlife Division, Ghumsar (South), Khurda, Sundargarh, Athgarh, Athmallik, Similipal (South), Dhenkanal, Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary, Subarnapur Territorial Division, Karanjia Division, and Khariar Division.
The state also saw deaths of several other animals in the past 10 years, with the highest number of 639 wild animals of different varieties killed in 2018-19 and the lowest of 390 in 2014.
The govt data revealed that 790 elephants were killed in the past 10 years, with the highest number of 93 in 2018-19 and the second highest of 92 in 2023.
In 2023-24 (so far), 66 elephants were killed, underscoring how the man-animal conflict has risen significantly.
In October, the forest minister said that in 2010-11, the elephant population in the state was 1886, but in the 2017 census, it came down to 1976. As per the 2017 census, the state has the highest elephant population concentration in Similipal Tiger Reserve (330), followed by 169 in Dhenkanal and 115 in Athgarh forest divisions.