India, Jan. 31 -- On the chilly morning of January 27, 2026, a two-and-a-half-year-old male tiger was killed after coming in contact with illegal electric fencing installed by farmers near the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in Bihar's West Champaran district. This is the first reported case of electrocution of a tiger by illegal electric fencing in the state's lone tiger reserve.

Never before has something of this sort happened in VTR, unlike tiger deaths due to electrocution in central and southern Indian reserves. Studies have revealed that electrocution is one of the major threats to tiger conservation in central India, which hosts the country's largest tiger populations.

Tigers have reportedly been killed in the past in VTR due to diff...