58 Tigers die in India in 5 years

At least 58 tigers have died in India's Central state of Madhya Pradesh during the past five years, forest officials said on Sunday. The officials said that among the 58 dead tigers, nine died from illegal hunting. Other reasons for Tiger deaths were old age, territorial fights and encroachment in their ecosystem in the state, officials added, 18 tigers died in 2009. "In 2012 the number of dead tigers stood at 13, in 2011 it was nine, and so far six deaths have been reported this year," officials revealed, "apart from poaching, three died of poisoning and five of electrocution." "The death of the other 49 tigers was due to cannibalism, territorial fights, accident, diseases like Pneumonia and old age among others." the officials said. According to the latest survey, the tiger population in India stood at 1, 706. The authorities in Madhya Pradesh have created five reserves to protect the endangered tigers. So far, 257, tigers have been counted in these reserves spread over thousands of hectares of land.