Meera's roar 15th to end in Maharashtra this year

Maharashtra saw another tiger mortality on Monday, as 'Meera', a sub-adult tigress and the offspring of the iconic tigress 'Maya', was found dead at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) after a fight with another animal. This has taken the tiger deaths in the state this year to 15.

This year's toll includes the poisoning of a female and her two sub-adult cubs at Brahmapuri in Chandrapur and that at Tipeshwar wildlife sanctuary on March 16 and the TATR on April 13.

"According to the postmortem report, she suffered from a spinal fracture and internal bleeding," said Praveen NR, conservator of forests, TATR. The carcass of the tigress was found in the core area of the TATR, which comprises parts of Chandrapur district, on Monday. Meera was the offspring of Maya (T-12), the iconic tigress from the reserve who is popular with tourists, and was part of her third litter.

According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) data, the mortality figure for Maharashtra in 2018 was 20, marginally down from 21 in 2017. The numbers were 15 in 2016, 12 in 2015, seven in 2014 and 10 in 2013.

The TATR has around 85 to 90 tigers, up from 60 to 65 in the 2014 nationwide tiger census, while the neighbouring Bramhapuri division, which caters to the spillover population of these carnivores, has 40.

Maharashtra has six tiger reserves. The 2014 tiger census said India has 2,226 tigers, up from 1,706 in 2010 with Maharashtra having around 190 such big cats, more than the figure of 169 in 2010. The 2018 tiger census has estimated 312 tigers in the state, while the figure for India is 2,967 (estimated range of 2,603- 3,346).