Close on the heels of the deaths of four tigers and a cub in less than a month, the state forest department has nabbed seven people for allegedly trafficking tiger body parts in Amravati.
Ashok Parhad, assistant conservator of forests (ACF), Amravati (Territorial), said since last week, they had arrested seven people for trying to sell tiger canines, bones and claws. “We had confidential information that some people were planning to sell tiger nails and arrested five people. Two more were arrested later,” he added.
Parhad said four teeth (three canines and one molar), nine nails and bones were confiscated from the accused. The accused are local villagers from Chikhaldara and the department is on the lookout for more people who are likely to be involved. Two of those arrested have worked as labour with the forest department on a temporary basis. Some of these recoveries were made on Monday. Other wildlife products seized also include oil made from python and monitor lizard fat, a [ea fowl leg, one piece of pangolin scales, 11 porcupine quills.
“The accused claim they chanced upon a tiger carcass in the core area of the Melghat tiger reserve and harvested its body parts,” said Parhad, adding that one of the accused had claimed to selling some contraband, which was being verified. The seized material will sent for testing and forensic examination. Parts of the tiger skeleton were also recovered from the spot.
Officials at the Melghat tiger reserve and the territorial forest division are already investigating a case of poaching in the area and claim to have found leads which suggest that at least one tiger may have been killed.
Between the last week of December and first week of January, four tigers were found dead due to both, natural and unnatural causes. This included a tiger and tigress in the Umred-Paoni-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary on December 30 and 31 due to suspected poisoning, a tigress at Khursapar in the Pench tiger project on January 3 and a tiger in Motha village at Chikhaldara on the next day.
The tiger mortality in Maharashtra stands at 21 in 2018. In 2017, the number of tiger deaths stood at 21 and the numbers were 15 in 2016, 12 in 2015, seven in 2014 and 10 in 2013.
TIGER CONSENSUS
- According to the tiger census, results for which were released in 2014, India has 2,226 tigers, up from 1,706 in 2010
- Maharashtra has around 190 such big cats, more than the figure of 169 in 2010
- This increased to 203 in the phase-IV camera trapping exercise in the year 2014-15
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