22-Feb-2017: Corbett Tiger Reserve workers get the nod to kill armed poachers

The Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) has issued shoot-at-sight orders against poachers. But the orders were to be carried out only for “self-protection against poachers carrying arms in the core critical tiger habitat zone. Such orders were given by the State Chief Secretary in the past too for the protection of forest department workers.

A five-day anti-poaching operation was initiated following information about suspected movement of poachers.

According to the tiger census data released in 2015, Uttarakhand, with 340 tigers, has the second highest tiger population in the country after Karnataka. According to wildlife experts, the tiger population has gone up in the past two years.

According to the data provided by the Uttarakhand forest department, 112 tigers have died between November 2000 and November 2016. This includes 56 natural deaths, 19 due to fights between the animals, 17 in accidents and six deaths in poaching incidents.