While the disappearance of tigers from the Sariska National Park shook the world wildlife fraternity, the reports of death of nine big cats in the Kaziranga National Park in the last three months is quite shocking. Wildlife experts say that the toll must be higher and believe that the forest officials in Kaziranga are deliberately quoting a lower figure. Though the forest officials claim that the reason behind these deaths is poisoning by villagers apart from infighting among tigers in their old age while people also blame the poachers for such large scale killings. However experts also blame rhino poachers for these killings in Kaziranga. The National Tiger Conservation Authority had already sounded an alarm over the increase in Doachine incidents, but it seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. A decomposed tiger carcass was found at Agoratoli range on December 21 and bones of a male tiger were recovered on January 10. On January 21, the body of a tigress was detected at the Park. India has lost more than 50 per cent of its tiger population in the past six years with the numbers dwindling to 1,411 from 3,642 in 2001-02, according to the latest tiger census report, the "State of tiger, co-predators and prey in India" a report of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), 2007, said that there has been an overall decrease in the tiger population except in Tamil Nadu where the numbers have gone up substantially from 60 in 2001-02 to 76. After much hue and cry raised over killing of 18 tigers in Sariska, the forest officials tightened their belts to ensure conservation of forest. The result was encouraging as far as the Ranthambore Tiger Sanctuary in Rajasthan is concerned. In May 2008 forest officials first spotted 14 tiger cubs in the park. This year, with the mating season fast drawing to a close in February, the thought of more tigers at the park has given joy as well as raised concerns over struggle for space. "On an average an adult tiger needs almost 16 sq km of area for its own territory. In normal condition the tiger could also travel almost 20 kms," says V P Singh of Terai Nature Conservation Society. On an average the tiger consumes 4-5 kg of meat but in some cases it can also overeat and then skip food for the next few days, Singh said. The Ranthambore National Park does not have the capacity to hold more tigers than its present capacity. Such has become the pressure on the tigers that 35 of them are literally holed in 392 sq km of the forest area. Their straying outside the protected forest cover sparks fears of these tigers becoming man eaters.