Bangalore: In what conservationists are describing as a “major breakthrough” for preservation of tigers in Karnataka at a time when their population is precariously balanced, a notorious poacher was arrested by Nagarahole National Park staff on Tuesday after months of pursuit.
Paapu, a resident of Haggadahalla village in Chamarajanagar district, shot a tiger near Bandipur Tiger Reserve in February 2009. The tiger’s pelt (skin) was seized by officials on May 9, 2009, at Dammanakatte on Mysore-Mananthavadi road, from his associates who led the Karnataka State Forest Department officials to him.
B.K. Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), said the arrest was “very significant” as Paapu is one of the most active tiger poachers in the State. “He belongs to a group of four poachers responsible for killing at least three tigers over the last two years,” he said.
On the rise
The arrest is an important development at a time when tiger poaching is on the rise, said Sanjay Gubbi of the Centre for Wildlife Studies. “Since the beginning of the year, seven cases of tiger poaching have surfaced, either through the seizure of pelts or the retrieval of carcasses,” he said. This arrest could provide vital clues for other unsolved tiger poaching cases in the State, said Mr. Gubbi. According to pugmark estimates, the State is home to 250 tigers, among the largest population in the country.
Illegal tiger trade essentially feeds the market for tiger claws, teeth, whiskers and several other parts of the tiger that are believed to have medicinal or aphrodisiac properties, said Mr. Gubbi. Among the most predominant methods of poaching in Karnataka include poison placed in carcasses of buffaloes and cows, steel traps and firearms. Bandipur, Nagarahole, Anshi and Dandeli are the major areas where poachers operate, he added.
Confession
Paapu is said to have confessed to shooting the tiger using an illegal gun. He was produced before the JMFC magistrate and has been sent to judicial custody until October 28. Mr. Singh said that the sentence for an offence committed inside a tiger reserve could range from three to seven years imprisonment, with a fine of a minimum of Rs. 50,000 extendable to Rs. 2 lakh. The Forest Department team responsible for his capture included Chief Conservator of Forests B. Hosamath; Deputy Conservator of Forests D. Yatish Kumar; RFOs A.V. Satish, Vasudevmurthy and S.S. Hiremath; forester Mahabasha; guard Vairamudi; forest watchers Srinivas, Bairaiah, Nanjunda, Appaji, Shivraju, Thimmaraju, Manjunatha, Chandru and Mallikarjuna; and driver Raju.
