Tiger Poaching Scandal? Goa Forest Official Says Remains ‘Not A Tiger’
Wildlife conservationists are furious over a senior forest official’s apparent attempt to cover up a tiger poaching incident in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
Suspicion is growing around the investigation of a Goa tiger poaching incident earlier this year which allegedly involved an employee of the home guard department - and now it appears a senior forest official is trying to cover it up.
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In the latest development of the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary tiger poaching cover-up, Chief Conservator of Forests Goa, Shashi Kumar, claims that the Wildlife Institute of India’s investigation shows the slaughtered animal was “not a tiger.”
Based on the samples sent, Wildlife Institute of India’s investigation prima facie shows that it is not a tiger. The preliminary report states that blood samples found on some leaves are also not of a tiger.
Such a claim is dubious, especially considering eyewitness accounts and published photographs of physical evidence at the location where the tiger was killed.
Amrut Singh of North Goa’s Animal Rescue Squad, who accompanied forest department officials to the site, stated that there is no doubt the animal was a tiger.
The fur stuck to the boulder showed the place where the tiger was leaning on the rock.
Noted wildlife conservationist, Rajendra Kerkar, exposed the case in April with photographs of the slaughtered tiger.
The animal which was killed is a protected animal under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act. The investigation is a conspiracy to misguide people by the Goa forest department.
Kerkar has since been enduring threatening phone calls and a “social boycott” in Keri for his outspoken adherence to what looks increasingly like … the truth.
From the time I exposed the tiger killing, the Majik community in Keri has been upset. They are constantly trying to provoke the rest of the village against me to ensure that I am socially and culturally boycotted in the village. I have also been getting threatening calls.
Cover-up or coincidence?
The apparent cover-up began when home guard department employee, Suryakant Majik, was accused of killing the tiger in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary. Majik was subsequently taken into custody by three forest officials (assistant conservator of forest Anil Shetgaonkar, and range forest officers Paresh Parab and Tulshidas Wadkar) - who he claims beat him up while in custody.
The Valpoi police then booked the three forest officials for “wrongful confinement and causing grievous hurt to tiger poaching accused Suryakant Majik”.
Why would police be more concerned with poacher Majik’s treatment than with the tiger killing case itself? Perhaps it has something to do with Majik’s employment with the home guard department - which works directly with the police department.
Confusingly, during this earlier part of the investigation, Shashi Kumar appeared to support the actions of his staff toward Majik.
My officers were on government duty. They were investigating the poaching of a tiger, not a sparrow. The department will not only give them legal assistance, but we will also be taking up the matter with the home ministry … We are going to back our forest officials to the fullest. They were investigating a serious crime.
However, his latest announcement that the animal was “not a tiger” seems to be a change of heart.
Forest officials are dismayed with Kumar, saying that the “forensic report” contradicts the physical evidence collected over the past several months. A senior forest official blames corruption.
The WII took three months to send us a prima facie observation. It’s ridiculous. We generally get a preliminary report in a matter of two weeks. Vested interests are trying to scuttle the tiger poaching probe.
Sadly, it seems the killing of a critically endangered tiger is yet again set aside in favor of a political agenda.
All poaching roads lead to …
Any tiger killing incident brings us back to the alarming tiger poaching crisis that was highlighted earlier this year when it was revealed that India’s Panna Tiger Reserve had no more tigers.
India’s tigers are being slaughtered to fulfill the demand in China, where superstition about the magical properties of tiger parts prevails over modern medicine. As affluence in China increases, critically endangered species - especially tigers and rhino - are decreasing. China’s insatiable demand for luxury items is also taking its toll on elephant populations, notably in Kenya.
Of course, the Chinese government denies involvement in wildlife poaching activities - and mainstream media reporting has predictably followed suit.
However, anyone who cares to research what is behind the widespread slaughter and destruction of Asia’s tigers, African and Asian rhino, and Kenya’s elephants will find that all poaching roads lead to just one place.
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
