BALASORE: The Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Mayurbhanj district, the fourth biggest reserve in India, has lost 40 Royal Bengal tigers in the last five years. It has just 61 tigers at present. This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh in the Rajya Sabha recently. To a query from Rama Chandra Khuntia, the Minister said the STR had an estimated tiger population of 61 - 16 males, 31 females and 14 cubs. The data was collected using the old pugmark method, he told the Upper House. What has forced the wildlife activists to think worse is that the number is far less than 101 put out by the reserve authorities in 2004. With the best preserved tiger habitat reporting low numbers, conservationists are now raising questions about the dwindling population of wild tigers in Similipal. They have demanded a CBI probe into the issue.