KENDRAPARA: Forest officials on Sunday arrested two poachers from Kansaradiha reserve forest within Bhitarkanika National Park and seized the carcass of a boar from them.
Forest ranger officer Sahaji Charan Biswal said, acting on a tip-off, the officials conducted a raid at the reserve forest and arrested the two poachers Ashis Pradhan (36) of Batighar village and Himanshu Maiti (45) of Barakolikhola village. During interrogation, both of them admitted to have killed the boar in the mangrove forest after trapping it. They were booked under sections 9, 27,29 and 35 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Poachers often trap boars and spotted deer by spreading nylon ropes in the mangrove forest and its nearby areas. Some poachers also use trained dogs to kill the animals. Since the large population of deer and boar in the park do not get enough food, they often stray into nearby villages and fall prey to the poachers. Around 450 poachers have been arrested in the last two decades for killing around 200 spotted deer, boar, birds and crocodiles in the park.