Determining absolute tiger numbers is contentious, but the reported death of 166 tigers during 2025, 40 more than the previous year, has caused understandable anguish among wildlife lovers. The big cats are poster heroes of India’s wildlife story, with an official count of 3,167 tigers during the last census of 2021-22. For context, there were an estimated 1,411 cats in 2006 and 2,967 in 2018. Unnatural mortality of these marquee animals should cause worry, warranting detailed investigation of the causes. The present discussion on tiger deaths comes at an appropriate moment, since a fresh census is just getting underway this year. Even allowing for scientific disagreements on the method of censusing tigers and the cull-versus-relocate management approach towards problem animals, such as maneaters, there appears to be a consensus that many tiger sanctuaries are confronted with overcapacity. This is attributed partly to habitat manipulation, through practices such as the creation of waterholes that artificially boost deer and other prey populations and grasslands that support higher prey and tiger numbers. Conflicts among territory-seeking tigers in crowded natural parks kill a few cats, and others perish due to infrastructure projects and road building, as in Central India. Some fall victim to poaching, while others die in traps set for smaller animals like wild boar. Expanding tiger sanctuaries could help, but it often faces opposition. A move to give more protected........

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