‘Satkosia littered with metal snares’

  • | Sunday | 18th November, 2018

BHUBANESWAR: Wildlife experts suspect that thousands of snares, placed by poachers to hunt prey animals, are currently strewn across Satkosia Tiger Reserve . The poachers observe the movement of animals, especially herbivores, for days before planting the snares.A forest officer said the only way to detect wire-laden entrapments was to use metal detectors. Traps can activate the signal on a detector from a minimum of 50 meters and a maximum of 100 meters. “The forest field personnel should use hand-held metal detectors while walking along animal paths,” said wildlife campaigner Biswajit Mohanty.MB2’s carcass bore a deep injury on the dorsal region of the neck. Only in rare cases does the animal escape,” said a wildlife officer.Poachers place the snares in areas frequented by prey animals such as wild boar , sambar and deer, and then leave.

BHUBANESWAR: Wildlife experts suspect that thousands of snares, placed by poachers to hunt prey animals, are currently strewn across Satkosia Tiger Reserve . While the autopsy report of male tiger MB2 — who died within four months of being brought to the state from Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha Tiger Reserve — is yet to be published, the injury on his neck is believed to have been caused by a metal trap of the kind poachers use in the area.Local poachers use wires made of rust-proof iron to build the traps. They also use the cables of motorcycle brakes, as these are very strong. “The wires are fixed across several bamboo sticks, which are arranged in a way so as to withstand the resistance of the animal and create a tight grip,” said a wildlife officer.“The more the animal struggles to escape the trap, the more severe is the injury. Most of the animals remain entrapped and finally die of their wounds as well as hunger. Only in rare cases does the animal escape,” said a wildlife officer.Poachers place the snares in areas frequented by prey animals such as wild boar , sambar and deer, and then leave. “A trap in which an animal has been snared becomes useless,” he added. The poachers observe the movement of animals, especially herbivores, for days before planting the snares.A forest officer said the only way to detect wire-laden entrapments was to use metal detectors. Traps can activate the signal on a detector from a minimum of 50 meters and a maximum of 100 meters. “The forest field personnel should use hand-held metal detectors while walking along animal paths,” said wildlife campaigner Biswajit Mohanty.MB2’s carcass bore a deep injury on the dorsal region of the neck. When the carcass was found on Wednesday, the wound was maggot-infested and was believed to be five days old.Meanwhile, the team of wildlife experts from the Wildlife Institute of India and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which visited the site where MB2 was found dead, returned after taking note of the circumstances leading to the death of the animal. It will file a report soon. The team comprised WII scientist K Ramesh, who has been overseeing the tiger translocation project in the state since the beginning, and inspector general (NTCA) Amit Mallik.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Latest Bhubaneswar headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles