Fresh data by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and TRAFFIC-India, the wildlife trade monitoring network, reveals that India lost close to 41 tigers from during the period of January 1 to August 9 in 2015. For the same period of time in 2014 too, the count was similar. Cause of death varied from natural causes to traps, poisoning and even being gunned down by authorities in case of man-animal conflicts.

A senior NTCA official spoke to a leading English daily saying, "After following all the advisories and standard operating procedures by the authority, if the state wildlife warden feels that the said animal is a threat, it could be put down. However, this happens only in extreme cases."

In January 2014, a police official shot a tiger dead near Ooty, Tamil Nadu. The incident is still being investigated as per the details given on Tigernet, the official database of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, which comes under the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are among states that witnessed the most number of tiger deaths. Maharashtra reported three tiger deaths in the given period of time, one reportedly shot dead by sharp shooters of the Chandrapur police. The count of dead tigers in the state has already reached five this year.

Amitabh Bachchan will soon be roped in as an ambassador for Maharashtra Forest Department's Tiger conservation projects, and Vikas Kharge, secretary of the department, thinks that it will bring a positive change. "We are yet to finalise the modalities and a meeting with the actor will soon take place. He is a tiger lover and his involvement in the project will have a unique appeal for the masses," Kharge said in a media report.