BENGALURU: The death of a tigress in a snare in a private field, just 300 metres away from Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, has sent the forest department officials into a tizzy. Senior officials in the department admit that there could be lapses in the surveillance in finding snares.
“Usually, regular combing operations are carried out to check and clear snares. Farmers put snares to catch wild boars and not tigers. However, in the last few days, the staffers were busy with elephant driving operations and were working to ensure that there are no cases of tigers or other animals being poisoned,” an official said.
Forest department officials usually focus on combing and search operations targeting the D-lines and trenches. The agricultural field in this case, even though outside the forest, was part of the core zone and so special attention should have been given to the region, the official added.
“All sanctuaries and reserve forests have been strictly instructed to undertake patrolling and surveillance on a daily basis. Regular combing operations need to be taken up. This could have been missed due to
multiple reasons and there is a need for a thorough investigation,” the official added.
The forest department has initiated an inquiry into the matter to ascertain what went wrong and where. Help from the police is also being taken in the investigation. Also, the director of the tiger reserve, Harshakumar Chikkaragund said that it has been decided that if snares are found, action will be taken against the property owners.
He said cases of poaching, under Wildlife Protection Act, will be filed against the property owner who is an old man.
So far, a case has been booked and an investigation is going on.