Forest officials of the Cauvery Reserve Forest range arrested a 45-year-old man who allegedly hunted four peahens and a peacock, and was planning to hand them over to his associates near Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhoohalli in Satanuru on Saturday.
On being alerted by villagers, a team led by Range Forest Officer Kiran Kumar raided the farm house. They arrested Manjunath who, along with his associate Muthanna, had hunted down the birds.
The officials have seized a country-made rifle used by the accused for hunting.
Manjunath has been booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act and remanded in judicial custody at Ramanagar prison while efforts are on to track down Muthanna, who is on the run.