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Wildlife Bureau issues ‘red alert’ against poachers, hunters in all tiger reserves
The red alert is issued for six tiger reserves across India, including two of Madhya Pradesh and three districts of MP, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change has issued a ‘red alert’ directing the authorities to visit all tiger reserves.
The bureau directed all concerned officials to immediately intensify the patrolling in sensitive areas amid the excessive poaching of tigers.
The red alert was issued a few days after a beheaded carcass of an adult tiger was found in Madhya Parsdesh’s Satpura Tiger Reserve. The decomposed headless carcass was found in the core area of the reserve on Monday, according to officials.
The red alert is issued for six tiger reserves across India, including two of Madhya Pradesh and three districts of MP, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
The red alert order dated June 29 (Thursday) reads, “This is to alert the field directors of all tiger reserves and officials concerning the outer areas of tiger reserves, including tiger baring areas.”
According to the red alert hunters/poachers are active around various tigers across India, but mainly in above mentioned states.
“Based on credible inputs received by the bureau & revelations of the recent seizures the organised hunting gangs are seen active around various tiger reserves, especially Satpura, Tadoba, Pench, and Corbett. Amangarh, Pilibhit, Valmiki, Rajaji, and tiger bearing areas such as Balaghat district of MP, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur of Maharashtra,” it said.
“The field directors of all tiger reserves and officials concerned may immediately intensify the patrolling, visit the identified sensitive areas, look for the suspected nomadic people in tents, temples, railway stations, bus stations, abandoned buildings, public shelter places, inform the officials of all the police stations concerned and sanitise aforesaid areas as a preventive measure,” stated the order.
The red alert was issued after the seizure of some parts of the tiger in Northeast states, said an official of the WCCB.
This also alerted MP officials as the beheaded carcass of a tiger was found in highly decomposed condition in Dabra Dev Beat in the Churna range of Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR).
STR deputy director Sandeep Fallow said, “The head was missing from the carcass. The carcass was in such a condition that we couldn’t even perform postmortem. The cause of death of tiger might be poaching.”
Special Task Force and dog squad are trying to nab the accused, who are stated to be locals and killed the tigers for occult practices, he said.
Meanwhile, wildlife activist Ajay Dubey demanded strict action against MP forest officials. “The chief minister should save the tigers and take strict action and punish the guilty officers,” he said.
A total of 100 tigers have been killed across India till date in 2023, out of which a maximum of 26 tigers died in Madhya Pradesh.
Significantly, for the last several years, Madhya Pradesh is on the top in tiger deaths.
Dubey added that a red alert was only issued after the head of the tiger was cut off by poachers. “The government of India lost its sleep and issued an alert,” he said.
However, MP principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) (wildlife) JS Chauhan said, “The red alert was issued after seizures in the north-east country, not because of STR’s incidence. We alerted all the officials and keeping vigilance in the area after the red alert.”
