BHUBANESWAR : In a major crackdown against smuggling of wildlife articles, forest officials in Mayurbhanj on Tuesday seized three leopard hides in Baripada forest division close to Similipal, and detained seven persons including a school teacher in this connection.
Forest officials said the hides were seized from Khunta and Betnoti range of Baripada following a joint crackdown by the field staff of Baripada, Similipal South and Balasore wildlife divisions.
Field director of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR)-cum-RCCF Baripada, Prakash Chand Gogineni said the special task force of STR also supported in carrying out the raid. “One leopard hide was recovered from Khunta while the other two were seized from the possession of the suspects in Betnoti. All the suspects detained in connection with the seizure are middlemen and traders,” Gogineni said.
Sources said one of the detainees is a school teacher from Betnoti area. However, his links are under investigation. Forest officials said the traders were apprehended while they were looking for potential buyers for the hides.
One of the staff from field intelligence who came to know about this illegal trading alerted the forest officials of Baripada and Similipal, and the raid was carried out. Forest officials suspect the skins are at least one or two-year-old, and the leopards have been poached within Similipal landscape.
“The traders appear to be professionals and are not divulging any details. The interrogation is continuing to find details of the source of the hides and the poachers involved in the wildlife crime,” they added. A forest official from Baripada division said they expect more details to emerge after the interrogation is completed.
The division has also decided to sent the skin samples to the Centre for Wildlife Health at OUAT, Bhubaneswar for their examination.
Meanwhile in another case, STR officials have arrested at least nine poachers and seized half-a-dozen country-made guns from their possession as part of an intensified protection drive in the tiger reserve. The poachers were arrested last week with the help of AI-integrated trail-guard cameras installed in different parts of the protected area to check trespassing and monitor movement of wild animals.