Bhubaneswar: Two bird poachers were arrested from Chilika lake area by the state wildlife police on Friday. A total of 13 dead birds of four difference species were seized from the arrested poachers.
The anti-poaching squads lead by ranger officer of Tangi Wildlife Range Subhas Chandra Behera arrested the two poachers Akhaya Das and Gouranga Behera, both residents of Gopinathpur in Puri district, when they were hunting waterfowls inside the Chilika lake. From their possession 8 Gadwalls, 3 Little Grebe, one Common Teal and Eurasian Wing each seized.
The accused have confessed that they were supplying the bird meat to various hotels in Bhubaneswar, Balugaon and Berhampur.
An estimated 8 lakh migratory birds have migrated to the lake this year.
The birds, mostly from Northern Eurasia, Caspian region, Siberia, Kazakh, Lake Baikal and remote areas of Russia visit Chilika every winter.
Keeping in mind that the poachers would active in the area, the wildlife department has set up 19 anti-poaching camps in the lake area. they added.
