New Delhi: A tiger cub was found dead in the Kanha Tiger Reserve, while the carcass of an adult tiger was recovered from Balaghat district, taking the number of tiger deaths in Madhya Pradesh to 23 since January this year, officials told PTI.According to officials, the cub, aged one to one-and-a-half years, was discovered on Thursday evening in the Sargi area of ​​the core zone of the reserve, which extends to Mandla and Balaghat districts. “The post-mortem of the cub was conducted on Friday and we are waiting for its report (to know the exact cause of death),” said Deputy Director Amita B.He said that prima facie the cub might have died of hunger as it was not given food by its mother. Three days ago, another cub of the same tigress had died. “The tigress gave birth to four cubs, two of which died. We are keeping a close eye on the tigress and the remaining two cubs,” he said.In a separate incident, an adult tiger was found dead in the northern forest division of Balaghat.The state, which had 785 tigers as per the 2022 census, the highest in the country, has reported nine deaths since April 2, when a tiger was found dead in a forest area in Burhanpur.Data from the National Tiger Conservation Authority showed that 21 tiger deaths were recorded in the state till April 21 this year. The first death of 2026 in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve occurred on January 7.Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey told PTI, “Madhya Pradesh ranks first in terms of tiger deaths, including unnatural deaths, which is worrying,” and flagged gaps in monitoring and patrolling.