Two poachers were thwarted from hunting animals and nabbed by the forest guards in the early hours of Thursday.
The two persons possessing a gun, two torches, a machete and 5 live cartridges were intercepted in the Cauvery block reserve forest and buffer area of the Hunsur Wildlife Range of Nagarahole National Park around 12.15 a.m.
Though they tried to evade the forest guards they were overpowered on the banks of the Cauvery and taken into custody.
Deputy Range Forest Officers Ramu and Sachin along with forest guards Manju and Ganesh, Range Forest Officer Hanumanthraju, and staff members of the Cauvery Anti-Poaching camp were part of the team that foiled the poaching attempt.
Mahesh Kumar, Director, Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, said “We are trying to ascertain if there is a larger network behind them or these were local operators trying to hunt for meat.’’
After the lockdown was announced on March 25, there have been four cases of poaching in Nagarahole alone. At least two such incidents were reported from Bandipur as well in which a few persons were taken into custody.
“We have stepped up our vigil and have deployed drones to keep an eye on the suspicious movement of people inside the forests and this is helping us track down the poachers. The forest guards and the personnel of the Special Tiger Protection Force are on foot patrol on a 24x7 basis working in shifts’’, said Mr. Mahesh Kumar.
In the meantime, the STPF personnel have stepped up combing operation along the national park periphery to remove snares laid by poachers.
