5 Poachers Arrested With the Seize of Wild Animals’ Body Parts in Manas National Park

Updated [18-Sep-23] Baksa: In Manas National Park, the authorities have confiscated body parts of wild animals and five poachers have been taken into custody. According to a forest official, body parts of wild animals in huge quantities are impounded from the belongings of the poachers. The occurrence was highlighted on Saturday, September 9, 2023.

The Manas National Park is located in the Chirang and Baksa districts of Assam and is a hotspot of wildlife tourism. It was declared a national park in 1990 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. Manas National Park is a safe shelter for several endangered species such as the Golden Langur, Red Panda, Assam Roofed Top Turtle, Pygmy Hog and Hispid Hare. Other star attractions of the national park include the Asian Elephant, the Royal Bengal Tiger, the Clouded Leopard, the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, the rare Langur and the Gangetic Dolphin.

In response to a received tip-off, forest department officials carried out a raid on the residence of an individual residing in Shamthaibari village, located near Kahitama beat of the park's Bashbari range. The team apprehended five people, including the aforementioned individual, on suspicion and accusation of their involvement in the illegal hunting of endangered wildlife such as rhinoceros, elephants, deer and other animals in the reserved forest.

The list of seized items by the authorities includes - a homemade firearm, rhinoceros horn, claws, skins, tiger nails, wild bison skin, wild buffalo horn, deer antlers, and other parts from various endangered species. All of these were apprehended from the individual’s residence.

The Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma reported - “In a first-of-its-kind Intel-based operation instrumented by the forest department authorities, a huge cache of banned wildlife articles, including a rhino horn, have been recouped in an operation in Manas. The arrest of poachers has also been made in this connection”.

This is a serious matter that requires attention and immediate action to prevent further harm to wildlife.

About the author

Aditi Paul

A degree holder of B.A. and M.A. in English from University of Calcutta, Aditi is an enthusiastic and professional content writer. Being a keen travelling and tourism fanatic herself, she has contributed to the website of Global Tourism of India pvt ltd. with her well researched and fact-based valuable blogs and articles. With sheer dedication to exploration she is well-versed about general tourism and wildlife tourism of India.