Berhampur (Odisha), a 48-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly hunting birds in Odisha's Chilika lake, a forest official said.
He was hunting birds at Bidharpursahi near Bhusandpur in the Tangi forest range and 18 carcasses of four species of birds were seized from his possession, said DFO Amlan Nayak of the Chilika Wildlife Division.
The bird carcasses include those of Grey-headed Swarm (14), Lesser Whistling Duck (2) and one each of Pheasant-tailed Jacana and Bronze-winged Jacana, he said.
Wildlife personnel suspected that the accused was taking the corpses to the market for sale and personal consumption.
Nayak said the poacher was suspected of having hunted the birds by poisoning them at Chilika Lake.
After conducting an autopsy, the bodies were buried, he said.
The DFO said tissue samples from the carcasses would be sent to the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) Center for Wildlife Health and the state forensic laboratory in Bhubaneswar for toxicological analysis.
Although not a single case of poaching was recorded in Chilika in the last bird migration season, when thousands of rupees migrated to the lake in winter, poaching of waterfowl has been reported recently.
The latest case of poaching at the lake was the second in the last week and the third in a month. Several residential birds and some migratory birds that have been left behind are now found in Chilika.
On July 3, wildlife personnel arrested two bird poachers in Deipur in the Tangi range of Chilika Wildlife Division.
The carcasses of 14 birds of two species were confiscated from the duo: gray-headed swarf (14) and watercock (one).
Similarly, forest officials arrested a bird hunter in Tentuliapada and seized the carcasses of two open-billed storks, a listed animal under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Typically, poachers become active after the withdrawal of anti-poaching camps in March. Patrolling at the lake has been intensified with existing personnel, the DFO said.
He was hunting birds at Bidharpursahi near Bhusandpur in the Tangi forest range and 18 carcasses of four species of birds were seized from his possession, said DFO Amlan Nayak of the Chilika Wildlife Division.
The bird carcasses include those of Grey-headed Swarm (14), Lesser Whistling Duck (2) and one each of Pheasant-tailed Jacana and Bronze-winged Jacana, he said.
Wildlife personnel suspected that the accused was taking the corpses to the market for sale and personal consumption.
Nayak said the poacher was suspected of having hunted the birds by poisoning them at Chilika Lake.
After conducting an autopsy, the bodies were buried, he said.
The DFO said tissue samples from the carcasses would be sent to the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) Center for Wildlife Health and the state forensic laboratory in Bhubaneswar for toxicological analysis.
Although not a single case of poaching was recorded in Chilika in the last bird migration season, when thousands of rupees migrated to the lake in winter, poaching of waterfowl has been reported recently.
The latest case of poaching at the lake was the second in the last week and the third in a month. Several residential birds and some migratory birds that have been left behind are now found in Chilika.
On July 3, wildlife personnel arrested two bird poachers in Deipur in the Tangi range of Chilika Wildlife Division.
The carcasses of 14 birds of two species were confiscated from the duo: gray-headed swarf (14) and watercock (one).
Similarly, forest officials arrested a bird hunter in Tentuliapada and seized the carcasses of two open-billed storks, a listed animal under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Typically, poachers become active after the withdrawal of anti-poaching camps in March. Patrolling at the lake has been intensified with existing personnel, the DFO said.
