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| Poachers’ den? Bhitarkanika National Park. Telegraph picture |
Kendrapara, Aug. 30: Poaching activities have become rampant in and around Bhitarkanika National Park with a rise in the demand for deer meat.
Yesterday, Bhitarkanika forest personnel took into custody the kingpin of a poaching syndicate. They also seized 40kg raw deer meat. The man confessed that they used to trap and kill deer at regular intervals.
“Besides the venison, an antler of the felled deer was seized during a raid in the Sunei-Rupei forest within the core area of the national park. Babaji Moharana, the key player of the poaching racket, was intercepted from the spot while three of his accomplices managed to evade arrest. They had spread out nylon nets with loops to ensnare the deer. The gang indulged in wildlife poaching activity. They were also adept in the poaching of wild boar,” said Manoj Kumar Mahapatra, divisional forest officer, Rajnagar mangrove (wildlife) forest division.
The forest department has intensified vigil by forming anti-poaching squads to keep round-the-clock watch.
Instances of wildlife poaching, particularly of the spotted deer, have come to light. But the department has resolved to ensure the animals’ safety.
On the other hand, the ground-realities are different. Demand for venison is on the rise. And the poachers are back on the business killing the deer at ease.
Previously, the arrested wildlife offenders have confessed that killing deer was a seasonal business. The racketeers take up the job to trap and kill the deer only when they are paid in advance for procurement of deer meat.
Poaching threat arises when the deer stay into human habitations.
The wildlife personnel feel that the deer species, as a rule, is preyed upon by estuarine crocodiles along the innumerable mangrove creeks. The balance between the prey and the predator is ideal for the feline family to grow.
But the fast disappearing mangrove forest in Bhitarkanika has led to shrinkage of the deer’s habitat. With mangrove forests being rapidly converted into agricultural land by illegal settlers living on the fringes of the area, it is a grim and bleak scenario as innocent herbivorous animals stray into paddy crop area to get trapped in the process.