Shahdol, Nov 25 (PTI) A 12-year-old tiger died after allegedly coming in contact with electrical wires on a farm in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Saturday.

The forest department has arrested 11 villagers in connection with the death of the big cat in the Jaitpur forest range in the district, adjoining the Bandhavgarh National Park, the official said.

A 15-day-old carcass of a tiger was recovered by a forest patrolling party on Thursday, following which 11 persons were arrested on the charges of poaching, divisional forest officer (DFO) Shraddha Pandre said.

The tiger had allegedly come in contact with electrical wires laid by villagers to trap wild boars on a farm, she said, adding that the body parts of the big cat were intact.

Eleven villagers have been arrested under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, the official said.

According to the report titled ‘Status of Tigers: Co-predators & Prey in India-2022', the tiger population in Madhya Pradesh in 2022 stands at 785, followed by Karnataka (563) and Uttarakhand (560).

The number of tigers in Madhya Pradesh has risen to 785 from 526 in 2018, it stated. PTI COR ADU ARU