TV
Despite the deployment of special forces, poaching of a rare melanistic tiger from Similipal forest has raised questions on the ongoing measures to protect the big cats in Odisha.
Forest officials have seized the Royal Bengal tiger’s skin and four poachers have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The Forest department personnel from the Dukura range conducted a raid on the night of January 12, leading to the arrest of the accused while they attempted to negotiate the sale of the black tiger's skin. The suspects, reportedly from areas adjacent to Beniadhara and Juguni Khunta, were produced before the Baripada Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on January 13.
Also Read: Caught on Cam: Rare melanistic tiger enjoying its kill in Odisha’s Similipal Reserve Forest
The forest department officials informed that the special enforcement wing of Similipal South WL Division arrested four persons from Tentula and Balighat village of Udala Police station limits under Baripada Forest Division and seized a juvenile Tiger skin and nail from their possession.
Earlier some arrests were made in Balasore, where tiger claws were recovered. During interrogations, two of the suspects admit to hunting the black tiger. Their confessions provided crucial leads, culminating in the forest department's successful retrieval of the tiger skin.
The poaching of the melanistic tiger is speculated to have occurred in the month of November 2024. Authorities are intensifying their efforts to track down two additional suspects believed to be the main orchestrators of this wildlife crime. The fugitive duo is currently at large.
