Bengaluru: Where once only one larger than life, notorious wildlife poacher Sansar Chand ruled the forests of Karnataka, today a dozen more, splinter groups with agents in the international grey market call the shots. And their network is ubiquitous, both in Karnataka’s reserve forests as well as the wildlife reserves in the rest of the country where they operate with the active connivance of the local populace that ring the villages on the periphery of the forests.
In Lokkere range in Bandipur Tiger Reserve’s Kundakere range in Gundulpet taluk, Chamrajnagar district, a new gang of poachers-hunters with old ties to Chand, is reportedly active, poaching cheetal and wild boars using meat bombs.
The death of Karnataka’s best photographed tiger - Prince - continues to be shrouded in mystery with a section of environmentalists and wildlife conservationists confirming that Prince was a victim of the nasty meat bomb explosion and poaching.
His carcass was found on April 2 in Lokkere range without his snout. One conspiracy theory that is now doing the rounds is that Prince may have been poisoned before the poachers chopped off his snout for his precious canines. "One should wait for the post mortem report before coming to any conclusion," said a local source.
He added that in the absence of deep jungle patrolling by the forest guards, poachers with the help of villagers in Kodihalli and other villages in the border areas kill these wild animals using meat bombs.
“Their meat is sold in villages at prices lower than mutton because they need to dispose it fast. They have the villagers on their side, who get cheap meat in return. Of late, the population of wild boars has increased and the villagers want to get rid of them,” he added.
The Forest Department severely lacks adequate number of forest guards and the patrol, largely monitors the main roads of the reserve forests. "This gives poachers a free hand to kill wild animals," he alleged.
