By IANS
Lucknow : Four people were arrested for allegedly killing a tiger in the well-known Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur-Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh.
According to state wildlife authorities, the adult tiger was killed about two months ago, but the culprits were nabbed on Saturday.
“They were sent to jail Monday afternoon after being booked for poaching under the wildlife laws,” Dudhwa National Park director M.P. Singh told IANS over telephone from Lakhimpur-Kheri, about 200 km from here.
Wild life officials learnt of the killing from the foul smell emanating from the place where the men had hidden the tiger skin for drying.
“The arrested people confessed to killing the tiger. The skin, nails and bones were recovered from their possession,” he said.
Singh, however, ruled out the involvement of a professional gang of poachers. “The crude manner in which the animal was skinned and the prolonged period for which the contraband tiger skin, bones, etc were stocked reflected their unprofessional approach. Professional poachers dispose off their catch as quickly as possible,” he pointed out.
This was the second case of poaching in the park this year, with the first killing being reported in January.
The park director did not rule out the possibility of the culprits looking for a buyer as they were aware of the demand for tiger bones, claws and even reproductive organs in China, where these are reportedly used for making aphrodisiacs.
“We are trying to find out if these poachers had any connection with professionals,” he added.
Rated as the second most important wildlife park, next to the famed Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand in north India, Dudhwa recorded a tiger population of 106 as per the official census last year. Wildlife experts however see it as an “over-estimation”.