Rana - the champion of the forest force who helped solve many forest crimes
MYSURU: He was every poacher's nightmare in the forests of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Rana - the champion of the forest force who helped solve many forest crimes, including poaching of tigers, leopards, antlers and sandal smuggling - passed away here on Tuesday.
Forest officers said the eight-year-old sniffer dog died of old age. Rana was cremated inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve with honours.
A trusted friend of the Karnataka forest force, the German shepherd, in his seven long years of service, played a lead role in solving a dozen tiger death and identification cases, including one in Tamil Nadu.
Born in December 2013, Rana underwent a 10-month training in Bhopal to help track down poachers. He was the first sniffer dog in Karnataka to be inducted into the forest force. Soon after joining the force, he identified three sandal smugglers in the N Begur range and then helped authorities in cracking the case of leopards being poisoned.
Rana aided foresters in search for man-eater
In Srirangapatna, Rana had helped officials to uncover a sandal tree felling case.
Last year, the detective sniffer successfully aided Tamil Nadu foresters in their search for the man-eater of Masinagudi which had created terror in Gudalur region in the Mudumalai forest. The elusive cat was caught after a tough 21-day operation. Rana has helped Karnataka forest personnel in 11 tiger investigations, including rescue operations and tracking of killers of big cats. In 2018, he helped to track down those involved in disposing of the carcass of a tiger that was electrocuted near Harohalli village. A tiger rescue operation in GS Betta was among his many achievements.
Bandipur Tiger Reserve director Ramesh Kumar and other officers paid their respects to one of their most trusted lieutenants before he was cremated.
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