A couple was arrested by Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary personnel late on Sunday night while they were cooking peahen meat. They had hunted the peahen from inside Debrigarh forest using a synthetic-made thread snare.
Seized Items and Identification
Wildlife officials said they seized cooked peahen meat, eggs, mud balls, feathers, axes, and steel knives. The poachers were identified as Surendra Khadia (40) and Rashmi Khadia (30). They were produced before a local court, which rejected their bail plea and remanded them in judicial custody.
Details of the Operation
Acting on a tip-off, the patrolling squad arrested the two poachers during a raid at night at Labantikra, at the foothills of Debrigarh. It was found during interrogation that a synthetic thread snare was placed around a peahen's nest for poaching. The ground-nesting birds lay eggs during summer, around 3 to 4 eggs per clutch. During interrogation, they also revealed that while collecting firewood, they found the peahen nest and planned to hunt it for its meat and to sell the feathers, said DFO (Hirakud wildlife division) Anshu Pragyan Das.
Conservation Efforts
She said since ground-nesting birds are commonly poached for meat and feathers in Debrigarh landscape, eco-development committees have been sensitised and informer networks have been established in all villages surrounding the sanctuary. Other birds frequently poached include francolin, partridge, and quails. We reward every informer for each tip-off related to poaching, Das added.
Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary
Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, known for its bison population, is also home to hundreds of peacocks and peahens. They keep roaming along the tourist trail. We ask tourists also not to disturb peacocks sighted in the wild. Harming or hunting them amounts to wildlife crime, the DFO said.
