A recently rescued two-year-old tiger fitted with a radio-collar was found dead in the Amanganj buffer area of Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve, forest officials said on Tuesday, marking the 28th tiger casualty in the state since January 7. The carcass was recovered intact with no suspicious activity observed nearby, according to Panna field director Brijendra Srivastava, who said the tiger had been under constant monitoring after its rescue from Tara village.

Srivastava said no immediate evidence of foul play was detected and that the cause of death will be determined only after a detailed site inspection. The tiger was among animals being tracked via high-tech collars as part of conservation efforts in a state that holds nine tiger reserves and, per the 2022 census, 785 tigers, the highest in India.

Wildlife activist Ajay Dube attributed the death to systemic administrative failure, alleging in a social-media post that repeated mortalities reflect a lack of stern action against underperforming forest staff. He said radio-collaring cannot compensate for ground-level lapses in monitoring and protection.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority has logged 28 tiger mortalities from Madhya Pradesh since January, with the first reported at Bandhavgarh on January 7. Forest officials said the Panna site inspection is ongoing, and a final cause of death will be released after forensic analysis.