5 poachers arrested, 64 bird carcasses seized in Odisha

Five persons have been arrested from Chilika Lake area and at least 64 carcasses of migratory birds seized from them, a forest official said.

Forest staff were patrolling near Sorana in Kuda-I area in the vicinity of Chilika Lake on Saturday when a motorboat tried to speed away.

When the patrolling staff intercepted the boat, five persons attacked them with sharp weapons in which four forest personnel were injured, said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Chilka Wildlife Division, Alok Ranjan Hota.

Despite injuries, they managed to overpower the attackers and arrested five of them while five others managed to escape from the spot, he said.

The wildlife personnel also seized the motor boat, an airgun, 500 cartridges, gunpowder and a knife from the arrested persons, the DFO said.

The carcasses were those of Northern Pintails, Large Whistling Teal, Rails, Marsh Birds and Jacana, he said.

An FIR was registered against the poachers in Tangi police station for attacking the forest staff, Hota said.

With this, wildlife personnel have registered six cases against poachers in less than a month. As many as nine poachers, including two fishermen, have been arrested during the period, he said.

Birds, mostly from northern Eurasia, Caspian region, Siberia, Kazakh, Lake Baikal and remote areas of Russia, visit Chilika every winter.