2 held for hunting migratory birds in Chilika

Two brothers have been arrested by wildlife personnel for allegedly hunting migratory birds in the Chilika lake in Odisha and a dead whistling teal was recovered from their possession, officials said today.
Wildlife personnel caught Malaya Behera (47) and his brother Bhaskar (40) at Sorana in the lake under Tangi Wildlife Range while patrolling, Range Officer Tangi Wildlife Range Ashok Das said.
A large whistling teal carcass was also seized from their possession yesterday, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Chilika Wildlife Division Bikash Ranjan Das said.
The net, which was used to kill the bird, was also seized from them, he said.

Das said the bird carcass was buried after the post-mortem.
It was the third bird poaching incident in the lake in last 20 days.

Wildlife personnel had arrested two poachers from Balipatapur on November 9 and seized 10 birds from them.
Similarly on November 13, they arrested another two poachers at Nairi in the lake and seized two birds - one alive and another dead - from them, officials said.
The bird poachers become active in Chilika when the winged guests flock to the lake as demand for their meat is very high in the nearby towns, wildlife experts said.

The DFO said at least 18 anti-poaching camps had been set up in the lake and would be in place till the homeward journey of the migratory birds in March.
Around three lakh birds have descended on the lake so far and their arrival is continuing. The exact number of birds coming to the lake would be known only after their headcount scheduled for January 9 next year, the DFO said.