MP HC Seeks Centre, State Report On Kanha Tiger Deaths After 8 Felines Die Of Viral Infection
“The respondents shall come out with specific averments regarding the preventive and curative measures taken by them in the matter of tiger deaths in the Kanha National Park with their reply which shall be filed within two weeks”: Court
BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh high court has issued a directive to the Centre and the state government to submit details regarding the recent spate of deaths of tigers in the Kanha National Park in MP and preventive measures taken to prevent it.
A division bench of Justices Vivek Jain and Ajay Kumar Nirankari on Friday issued the notice to the Union government, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the state of Madhya Pradesh and authorities of the national park in response to the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mumbai-based advocate Subit Chakravarti citing death of eight tigers in the national park in the last two months.
“The respondents shall come out with specific averments regarding the preventive and curative measures taken by them in the matter of tiger deaths in the Kanha National Park with their reply which shall be filed within two weeks”, the court ordered.
The petitioner said that the recent tiger deaths in the national park raised concerns regarding compliance with statutory safeguards, disease surveillance measures, and monitoring protocols prescribed under the NTCA framework.
The PIL referred to recent deaths of tigress T-141 and her four cubs, tigress T-122 and tiger T-220 during the period of March- May 2026.
The deaths were linked to the Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), which is capable of causing respiratory illness, neurological disorders, behavioural abnormalities, loss of hunting ability and death.
The petitioner cited the communications issued by the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI), which indicated the prevalence of the CDV and domestic dogs and recommended mandatory surveillance, routine testing during post-mortem examinations, exclusion of stray dogs from buffer zones and standardized diagnostic procedures, to drive its point home.
Meanwhile, a senior forest officer told this newspaper on Saturday that more than 100 tigers in the Kanha National Park have been put under close surveillance following the death of some tigers due to the fatal infection by the CDV.
Laboratory testing conducted by the School of Wildlife Forensic and Health, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), has confirmed the presence of CDV.
CDV spreads from the infected dogs and cats.
An expert team from the NTC, Bengaluru, called for scientific sero-prevalence study of stray dogs and cats around Kanha to map the viral circulation and shape long-term disease prevention strategies, the forest officer said.
