50 Humans Killed, 45 Tigers Dead: Madhya Pradesh Faces Growing Wildlife Conflict

adhya Pradesh’s wildlife conservation success is increasingly coming with a human cost. In the first eight months of 2026, at least 50 people have died in wild animal attacks across the state, while more than 45 tigers have also died, according to the latest data available with the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department.

The state has India’s highest tiger population and the country’s largest leopard population, but the growing overlap between forests, wildlife corridors and human settlements is creating a difficult conservation challenge.

Tigers account for most human fatalities

According to Forest Department figures, tigers have caused the highest number of human deaths this year. Of the 50 fatalities, 22 were caused by tiger attacks, eight by wild boars, seven by elephants, four by sloth bears and one by a leopard.

At least 16 of those killed were girls and women, while the remaining victims were boys and men.

The deaths were heavily concentrated between March and May, when 30 people were killed — seven in March, 13 in April and 10 in May. These months also coincide with the period when large numbers of villagers, particularly tribal communities, enter forest areas to collect tendu leaves and mahua flowers, increasing the chances of encounters with wildlife.

Seoni, Bandhavgarh emerge as major conflict zones

Tiger attacks have been particularly severe in the Mahakoshal region. Of the 22 people killed by tigers, 14 died in and around Seoni, an area popularly associated with the forests that inspired Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.

Another seven tiger-related deaths were reported from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and adjoining areas, which have one of the highest concentrations of tigers in Madhya Pradesh.

The conflict is not limited to tigers. Eight people were killed by wild boars across the state, while seven elephant-related deaths were reported mainly from Anuppur, Sidhi and Shahdol, districts bordering Chhattisgarh. Elephants have increasingly been moving into Madhya Pradesh from neighbouring areas.

Three of the four deaths caused by sloth bears were also reported from eastern districts adjoining Chhattisgarh.

406 people killed in five years

The latest fatalities are part of a much larger pattern. Forest Department data shows that 406 people were killed in wild animal attacks between 2020-21 and 2024-25.

The state recorded 90 deaths in 2020-21, 80 in 2021-22, 86 in 2022-23, 79 in 2023-24 and 71 in 2024-25. During the same five-year period, 5,804 people were injured and 72,627 livestock-loss cases were reported.

The financial burden has also been significant. Madhya Pradesh paid more than ₹88.38 crore in compensation for human deaths and livestock losses during this period, with payouts crossing ₹20.05 crore in 2024-25 alone.

Why are encounters increasing?

Forest officials and wildlife experts point to the expanding overlap between human activity and wildlife movement.

Villagers living near forests often enter these areas to collect firewood, tendu leaves and mahua flowers, graze cattle or work on farms bordering forests. At the same time, animals increasingly move beyond protected areas in search of territory, prey and water.

Roads, railway lines, farms, villages and other infrastructure have also fragmented wildlife corridors, forcing animals to pass through human-dominated areas.

Contrary to the perception that attacks happen mainly deep inside forests, many encounters occur along forest fringes where people and wildlife regularly cross paths.

Tiger numbers have risen sharply

Madhya Pradesh’s tiger population has grown significantly. The state recorded 785 tigers in the 2022 national tiger estimation, and its current population is estimated by officials and experts to be around 1,000.

But a larger tiger population also means greater pressure on available habitat. Young tigers pushed out by dominant animals travel long distances in search of territory, sometimes crossing agricultural fields, villages and fragmented forest corridors.

Tigers do not remain confined to the boundaries of tiger reserves, making safe wildlife corridors crucial for preventing encounters with people.

Pench incident exposes growing anger

The tension between communities and wildlife was starkly visible around Pench Tiger Reserve earlier this year, where two people were killed in tiger attacks within 13 days.

One of the victims, 30-year-old Dinesh Sevatkar, was mauled to death after entering a forest area near a water body around dusk. His death triggered anger among villagers, with hundreds reportedly entering parts of the reserve, damaging vehicles and property and allegedly setting sections of the forest on fire.

Earlier that month, another villager collecting mahua flowers during the pre-dawn hours was killed in the Kumbhapani buffer area.

Similar conflicts have also been reported around Bandhavgarh and Satpura.

For communities dependent on forest resources, the tiger is therefore not only a symbol of conservation success. It can also represent an everyday threat to their lives and livelihoods.

Tigers are dying too

The other side of the crisis is reflected in the state’s tiger mortality figures. More than 45 tigers have died in Madhya Pradesh during the first eight months of 2026.

Some deaths are linked to natural causes, territorial fights, disease and old age. Others can result from road and railway accidents, electrocution, poisoning and poaching.

Previous investigations have also raised concerns over unresolved tiger deaths and monitoring in several parts of the country, including major Madhya Pradesh landscapes such as Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Panna.

Madhya Pradesh is now facing a difficult conservation paradox: its tiger population is thriving, but the safe space available for wildlife is under pressure. At the same time, villagers continue to depend on forests for mahua, tendu leaves, firewood, grazing and other livelihoods.

As animals move out in search of territory and people continue to enter the forests for their daily needs, both sides are increasingly paying the price.