T.N. Forest department steps up efforts to arrest leopard poachers in the Nilgiris

TN Forest Dept. ramps up efforts to identify poachers responsible for cutting off leopard's paws; 3 teams formed to investigate.

Sniffer dogs from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) and the Nilgiris Forest Division were pressed into service as Forest Department officials ramped up efforts to identify persons responsible for ensnaring a leopard before cutting off its paws at Mel Thattapaalam in Kotagiri forest division.

The carcass of the leopard was found on Saturday in a private tea estate. Following the incident, conservationists in the Nilgiris highlighted the spurt in poaching and hunting cases in the Nilgiris forest division in 2023, where at least three tigers, an Indian gaur and two leopards were killed this year.

In a statement, District Forest Officer (Nilgiris division) S. Gowtham said that a case was registered for the latest incident of poaching under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. He said that based on standard operating procedures formulated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, a postmortem was conducted and veterinarians from MTR as well as the Animal Husbandry Department collected samples for forensics analysis.

Mr. Gowtham said that based on directions by the Conservator of Forests (Nilgiris), D. Venkatesh, three special teams headed by rangers from Kotagiri and Kil Kotagiri have been formed to conduct investigations. He said that the teams have begun combing the areas surrounding the location where the incident took place, and that people in the settlements surrounding the area were being questioned by the forest staff, seeking information about the incident.

Also assisting them are Forest Department teams from Erode, the Forest Elite Force, Coimbatore and Vaigai Dam. “The Tamil Nadu Forest Department is taking every effort to quickly nab the people responsible,” said Mr. Gowtham in the statement.