Two young tigers were found dead. Their paws had been severed in Uttarakhand, India

Uttarakhand Tiger Poaching Thrived Amid NTCA Silence | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement

Uttarakhand tiger poaching thrives amid institutional silence of NTCA, concealed tiger deaths, weak investigations and organised trafficking networks.

**Two young tigers were found dead** in Shyampur Range, in Haridwar forest division in Uttarakhand on May 19 and 20, 2026. Their paws had been severed. Post-mortem examination confirmed poisoning from a contaminated buffalo carcass deliberately placed as bait. The mother tigress has not been sighted since.

This incident, documented by forest officials and confirmed by the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Vivek Pandey, occurred in a designated tiger corridor adjacent to Rajaji Tiger Reserve. It was not an isolated poaching incident. It was the visible manifestation of something the Indian forest administration has been quietly managing: organised wildlife crime operating beneath the surface of conservation success statistics.

Also Read: Corbett Tiger Poaching: CBI Names Officers, State Says Nothing Happened

Tiger Poaching in India

For much of 2026, Uttarakhand’s government has projected an image of tiger conservation triumph. Official figures showed the state’s tiger population at 560 animals in 2022, up from 442 in 2018 — a 26.69 percent increase. Corbett Tiger Reserve, the nation’s oldest protected area, held 260 tigers in 2022, compared to 231 four years earlier. These numbers formed the basis of Uttarakhand’s institutional narrative: a model state for tiger conservation, recognised nationally and internationally for exemplary protection measures.