ADILABAD: The safety of wildlife in the Kawal Tiger Reserve has come under scrutiny, as officials and activists warn that gaps in field surveillance are being exploited by poachers, leaving leopards and other animals vulnerable in the forest landscape.
The latest case surfaced when Mancherial forest officials seized leopard nails and arrested three poachers who had allegedly electrocuted the animal using an electric fence in the Thadlapet range. After killing the leopard, the accused reportedly burnt the carcass and attempted to sell the nails and other body parts before the crime was detected.
Sources in the Forest department say such incidents are not isolated, with poachers increasingly using electric wires to trap animals and then transporting the meat or body parts to other districts to avoid suspicion.
A senior forest officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said administrative restructuring after district reorganisation had weakened the local intelligence network that once helped track poachers. “Before the districts’ bifurcation, forest beat officers (FBOs) and forest section officers (FSOs) were transferred within the same forest division.
As they worked across the ranges within the division, they became familiar with the terrain and the people in the area. Their local informer networks were strong, and there was mutual trust between the officers and informers, which helped them identify the movement of poachers.
After the districts were reorganised, FBO transfers began taking place at the district level while FSO transfers were done at the zonal level. This has made it difficult for officers to develop strong local intelligence networks,” the officer explained.
Forest staff say the zonal transfer system often brings officers unfamiliar with the terrain, local networks or the identities of habitual offenders and informers. As a result, it takes considerable time to rebuild intelligence networks.
Officials in the forest department say it may take nearly two years for an officer to gain a grip over the local forest terrain and establish trust with informers. However, by the time such familiarity develops, transfers frequently shift them to another section, disrupting the monitoring system once again.
Some forest department sources also allege lapses in field monitoring. In certain instances, mobile phones used to record patrol movements are reportedly handed over to watchers, who ride through forest stretches on two-wheelers while the device logs their location. The recorded data is later presented as evidence of field patrols.
Officials say such practices weaken on-the-ground surveillance, allowing poachers to operate with relative ease.
Taking advantage of these gaps, they set electric traps for wild animals and transport the meat or body parts to other districts to avoid suspicion. Sources also report that poachers use various tactics to evade detection. In some cases, they reportedly travel with family members in public buses while carrying the meat to distant markets, making their movements appear routine and difficult to trace.
The risk increases during summer, when wild animals move closer to water bodies and sometimes towards villages in search of food and water. Poachers monitor these movements and lay electric traps along frequently used paths. Wildlife experts warn that unless surveillance is strengthened and coordination among forest staff improves, poaching could continue to threaten wildlife in the Kawal Tiger Reserve landscape.