On a cold winter morning in late January 2026, a young male tiger met a tragic end near Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve, raising serious concerns about a growing and largely unchecked threat to big cats in human-dominated landscapes. The two-and-a-half-year-old tiger was electrocuted after coming into contact with illegal electric fencing installed by farmers along the forest boundary in West Champaran district. This incident marks the first recorded case of a tiger dying due to electrocution inside Bihar’s only tiger reserve.
Forest officials confirmed that the animal’s body was discovered in a sugarcane field close to Purainia village under the Manguraha forest range during a routine patrol on January 27. The fencing had been illegally connected to grid electricity to protect crops from wild herbivores, a practice that officials admit has quietly spread across villages bordering the reserve.
While tiger deaths caused by electrocution have been reported from reserves in central and southern India, such an incident had never been recorded in Valmiki Tiger Reserve before. Officials say this makes the case particularly worrying. Previous tiger deaths in the reserve were attributed to natural causes such as territorial fights. In 2025 alone, three tigers were found dead at different locations, with post-mortem reports indicating infighting rather than human-induced harm.
Sunil Kumar Pathak, a senior official at the reserve, said the tiger’s death was directly linked to illegal electric fencing installed by farmers to protect rabi crops. These fields lie dangerously close to forest boundaries where tigers often stray while moving between habitats.
Field Director Nesamani K said preliminary investigations and veterinary examinations clearly point to electrocution as the cause of death. Viscera samples have been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly for final confirmation, following standard wildlife protocols.
He acknowledged that illegal fencing poses a serious challenge to tiger conservation efforts, especially as big cats increasingly venture outside protected forest areas. According to him, protecting tigers cannot stop at forest borders when their movement overlaps with farmlands and villages.
Electric fencing by farmers is illegal under Indian law, yet it remains common near protected areas. Farmers often use household or agricultural grid power to electrify wires meant to deter animals like nilgai and wild boar. Wildlife experts warn that such fencing becomes fatal traps for tigers and other large mammals that pass through these landscapes.
Officials say enforcement alone will not solve the issue. Valmiki Tiger Reserve plans to launch awareness campaigns to educate farmers about the dangers of electric fencing and encourage safer alternatives for crop protection. However, authorities have also made it clear that those found responsible will face action under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Growing tiger numbers, growing risks
The incident comes at a time when Valmiki Tiger Reserve has been widely praised for its conservation success. Official data shows that tiger numbers in the reserve have increased from 28 in 2014 to 54 in the latest survey conducted two years ago. The National Tiger Conservation Authority recognised this 75 percent rise and placed the reserve in the ‘Very Good’ category.
Spread across nearly 900 square kilometres, the reserve shares its boundaries with Nepal and Uttar Pradesh, making it a crucial corridor for wildlife movement. Conservationists warn that as tiger populations grow and expand beyond forest cores, conflicts with human activities are likely to rise unless mitigation measures keep pace.
Wildlife experts point out that tigers naturally move through agricultural fields and human-dominated areas while dispersing or searching for territory. Without addressing illegal electric fencing, they say, similar deaths could become more frequent, undermining years of conservation gains.
As Bihar prepares to declare Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary as its second tiger reserve, the death of this young tiger serves as a stark reminder. Conservation success inside forests must be matched with safety measures outside them, or the line between protection and peril will continue to blur for India’s big cats.