Hunters enter Nallamala

Hunters enter Nallamala February 6, 2012 Ongole The entry of hunters into the Nallamala forest for tigers is worrying wildlife protectors. The entry of hunters into the Nallamala forest for tigers is worrying wildlife protectors. Recently, forest officials arrested Parameshwar Munda of Kathrangarh of Jharkhand on February 1 during a vigil in the forest. During interrogation he revealed that a gang of 14 members, split into two teams, had entered Nallamala to trap tigers from the Srisailam side. According to the forest department, there are 70 tigers in the forest. To protect tigers, government had banned vehicular movement from 10 pm to 6 am to Srisailam. All vehicles are stopped at Dornala during the night. Forest officials identified the body of a tiger in the Sagar canal near Donakonda last year but could not identify the hunters. Earlier, Nallamala was a garrison for Maoist activities, hence no one dared to enter except for police combing parties. With the Maoists gone, tiger hunters are making good use of the situation to trap tigers. They take the skin and nails of tigers after killing them in traps. According to reports, a tribe of Rajasthan (Katni) and another tribe (Bahili-ya) of Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand are famous for tiger hunting. Divisional forest officer (wildlife) C. Saravanan, speaking to this newspaper, said that forest staff was carrying searches to identify traps and nab the hunters