JAIPUR: A picture of a bleeding Sambar deer with complete broken jaw and chafed tongue ignited a debate over alleged prevalence of poaching inside the core area of the Ranthambore National Park (RNP).
The picture was taken by a gypsy driver during an afternoon safari near Bakola region inside the core area. While environmentalists claimed the wild animal sustained serious injuries after it bit a crude bomb (golai) placed by poachers, the forest department, however, refuted the allegation and claimed it as a crocodile bite.
RNP, DFO, Mahendra Sharma said, “The pattern indicates it’s a crocodile bite. There are past pictorial references with forest staff in which crocodile bites were recorded in similar manner. At present, water bodies in Bakola region are full with good population of crocodiles.”
Environmentalists, however, countered, “The jaw portion of the Sambar is the strongest. Crocodile bite crushing a small portion of face is nearly impossible.” It is suspected that some villagers on the periphery area of RNP plant explosives to kill or deter wild boars and other wild animals from entering their farmlands. Forest officials claimed planting a country-made bomb deep inside the forest will not be a useful practice for villagers.
Tapeshwar Singh Bhati, a green activist said, “There is a possibility that an incident has occurred in the peripheral area and the deer walked inside the forest after the injury. Hunting of prey animals, especially wild boar, has increased after lockdown. There are recorded incidents when the forest department arrested the poachers in December 2020. The crude bomb could have been kept for wild boar.”
Earlier, after a camera trap picture with a wire snare around the neck of tiger T-108 in RNP surfaced on December 6, the forest department had issued a red alert.