Almost 50 tigers dead in six months in India

CNN-IBN New Delhi: Close to 50 tigers have died in the past six months in India, 19 of which were killed in poaching incidents. It's a shocking figure, specially when compared to the 56 tiger deaths reported in all in 2011. The National Tiger Conservation Authority has sounded an alert in all tiger reserves with an order that all the big cat deaths must be treated as poaching cases unless proven otherwise. It has identified Corbett in Uttarakhand and Tadoba in Maharashtra as poaching hot spots. Efforts are on to step up monitoring and foot patrolling in the monsoon season when the parks are shut down, making them more vulnerable to poachers. Tiger conservation activist Rajesh Gopal said, "There have been several tiger deaths. We are considering all deaths as cases of poaching unless proven otherwise." Tiger conservation activist Sunita Narain said, "The government must focus on rehabilitating poachers in order to save the tigers." http://ibnlive.in.com/news/almost-50-tigers-dead-in-six-months-in-india/265555-3.html