Raipur, March 10 As many as 38 elephants and nine tigers died due to various reasons, including electrocution, poaching, and infighting, in Chhattisgarh over the past 26 months, state Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap informed the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
During the same period, 562 other wild animals, including leopards, bears, blue bulls, and chitals, also died due to various reasons, the minister said in a written reply to a question by Sheshraj Harbansh (Congress).
Harbansh had sought details of tiger and elephant deaths in the state between December 2023 and January 2026, including locations, timing, and causes. The opposition MLA also requested information on the species-wise and forest division-wise details of unnatural deaths of other wildlife during the period.
In his reply, Kashyap told the House that nine tigers and 38 elephants died during the period, in addition to the 562 other wild animals.
According to the reply, two of the nine tiger deaths were caused by electrocution by poachers who had installed illegal electric fences. The other two tiger deaths were attributed to infighting.
An eight-year-old tiger from Raipur's Nandan Van Zoo and Safari died at Vantara, a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center located in Gujarat's Jamnagar district, on October 10 last year due to multiple organ failure, the report stated.
Among the 38 elephant deaths, 14 were caused by electrocution, while 10 occurred due to drowning, the reply stated.
Of the 562 deaths of other wild animals, 145 were reported at Nandan Van Zoo and Safari (five in December 2023, 61 in 2024, 76 in 2025, and three in January 2026). The causes included infighting, asphyxia, heatstroke, pneumonia, and infection, the minister said.