CID Forest Cell officials in Bengaluru reportedly have information that a gang of tribesmen from Haryana is trying to enter the forests of Karnataka to lay traps for the big cats.
“A gang of 10 poachers - six men and four women - from Hansi village in Hissar district of Haryana is trying to enter the forests of Ramanagaram, Castle Rock and Goa to lay the traps. These tribesmen called Bawerias are entering Karnataka for the first time. They are professional hunters who pose as vendors of artificial flowers," say sources. Their modus operandi is simple. They lay traps on the fringes of forests and wait for the tigers and leopards to fall into them.
Their targets are usually jungles with the highest density of tigers and leopards and Karnataka offers them a huge hunting ground as 20% of the country's tiger population is foound in its six tiger reserves and several national parks.The threat is very real as a gang of tribesmen was reportedly found camping at Gundlupet, selling kitchen knives around the time that a tiger was killed allegedly after being jaw-trapped on December 31 in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Read the full report here.
Source: Deccan Chronicle, Bengaluru.
