More than five days since the hunting of a gaur near Kattery Dam in the Kundah Forest Range, the Forest Department is yet to make any arrests.
According to S. Gowtham, District Forest Officer (Nilgiris division), one car has been seized in connection with the incident. “We suspect that the gaur was hunted for its meat, and we are investigating how many people are involved,” said Mr. Gowtham, adding that the owner of the car, believed to be from Gudalur, has since gone absconding.
Mr. Gowtham said that they would only be able to ascertain the number of people involved in the incident once the arrests are made. “As of now, investigations into the incident are continuing.”
Sources in the Department said they had identified the car and the accused based on CCTV footage from near the scene of the incident, in which the gaur that was hunted could be seen, followed closely by a car carrying the alleged poachers. The gaur was found on Thursday morning with injuries from projectiles that are believed to have been shot into the animal’s head.
The incident, which occurred near a highly sensitive area – The Kattery Dam, that supplies water to the Cordite Factory in Aravankadu and is guarded round-the-clock by armed sentries, has highlighted the spread of poaching across the Nilgiris, allege conservationists.
“This area is known to be a popular spot for poachers. Just a few years ago, the operators of a private resort, along with a few tourists hunted a Sambar deer and a Malabar giant squirrel with a gun before they were captured after a local tipped off the Forest Department,” said a conservationist, requesting anonymity.
N. Sadiq Ali, founder of the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust (WNCT), said illegal firearms were being used across the district to poach wildlife. “Only if the police and the Forest Department work with local informer networks can they hope to identify individuals owning illegal firearms and arrest them. Only a clampdown on such illegal weapons can ensure the safety of wildlife in the district,” said Mr. Sadiq.
In the recent past, illegal weapons have also been used to shoot and fatally injure elephants in Gudalur division, and there are concerns that poachers from the Gudalur-Kerala border are beginning to operate across the district.
