ADILABAD: A sniffer dog deployed at Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) has single-handedly helped to track teakwood smugglers and poachers. Introduced at the reserve in 2018, the dog, a German Shepherd, has traced culprits in over 15 cases.
Deploying the dog, named Cheetah, marked the first time in the State that sniffer dogs were used by the Forest Department.
The department purchased Cheetah and sent it for training at National Training Centre for Dogs (NTCD), at Tekanpur in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, for nine months. After training, Cheetah joined the KTR forest force in Jannaram Division in December, 2019. Two beat officers have been appointed to further train the dog, monitor its health, and take care of its other needs.
One of Cheetah’s successes is when it helped nab two poachers who had killed a leopard through a wire snare in Rangampet forest area of Mancherial division.
In another case, the dog helped track and nab four persons who were involved in killing a leopard at Armoor division in Nizamabad district. In Jannaram itself, Cheetah has helped identify poachers and has also helped crack three cases of teakwood smuggling.
Jannaram forest divisional officer C Madhav Rao said after the arrival of Cheetah to the reserve, poachers and smugglers live in fear. He said in some cases, poachers had been identified after just one day of the crime.The Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) is spread over 983 sq km of core and 1,123 sq km of buffer zone areas across Adilabad, Kumrambheem Asifabad, Mancherial and Nirmal districts in the State.