Poachers on forest dept’s radar after spike in tiger deaths

LUCKNOW: Day after a tiger carcass was found in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve forest, officials began crackdown against active poachers in nearby districts.

A poacher was arrested in Shahjahanpur on Tuesday and a rapid response team was set up in nearby Pilibhit district to target poachers. The accused identified as Luv Kumar was booked under anti-poaching laws and was the first case lodged in the district concerning Dudhwa Tiger reserve in Shahajahnpur since 2018, police said.

Superintendent of Police (SP) of Shahjahanpur S Anand confirmed Luv’s arrest.

“We recovered two black cobras and endangered tortoise from Luv Kumar’s possession. The arrest was made in a joint operation by forest officials and intelligence sources. The accused has confessed that the snakes recovered from him were endangered and were caught from bordering Dudhwa Tiger reserve. He said, he was planning to sell them to buyers.” Anand said.

Meanwhile, officials at nearby Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) formed a dedicated team to act against poaching activities in reserve.

The action came after death of five big cats in Dudhwa and Pilibhit Tiger reserve this year. Of these five tiger deaths, poaching activities might have led to the death of at least two tigers, officials said.

They said the most recent death was reported from Kishangarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Dudhwa forest reserve on Sunday. The carcass has been sent for post-mortem investigation, but forest officials have not ruled out foul play.

In PTR, a tigress died after being caught in a snare placed by poachers on March 11. The forest officials lodged an FIR of poaching at Jehanabad police station against a dozen people. According to experts the recent spike in poaching activities near the reserve are being seen after a gap of at least two years.

“In PTR the last poaching incident was recorded in 2017 while in Dudhwa it was last reported in 2019,” said Zafar Iqbal an environmental activist. “The poachers take advantage of the very narrow, nearly non-existent buffer zone of the reserve that allows them to easily reach the core area and poach animals,” he added.