Tribal gangs use steel traps, tweezers to hunt wild animals in Maharashtra

Wild animals are hunted by two major gangs in Madhya Pradesh, 'Katni' and 'Bahenia', along with the tribal tribes of Melghat in Maharashtra. They used iron and steel traps and tweezers to hunt wild animals. Incidents of wildlife poaching are frequent in Satpuda range.

Jalgaon (Maharashtra): Most parts of Yaval, Raver, and Chopda talukas of the district are covered by the Satpuda range. Numerous animals live in this forest. Moreover, due to a large number of forest resources, hunting of wild animals, the plunder of forest resources, and encroachment of forest lands are constantly taking place here.

Wild animals are hunted by two major gangs in Madhya Pradesh, 'Katni' and 'Bahenia', along with the tribal tribes of Melghat in Maharashtra. Incidents of wildlife poaching are frequent in Satpuda.

The Satpuda range has a dense forest on the inside. There are numerous wild animals such as tigers, leopards, bears, deer, rabbits, blue bulls, squirrels, and wild boars. Hundreds of wildlife poaching incidents occur every year. The main preys are deers, blue bulls and wild boars. Wildlife is mainly hunted for meat and organs. The people who hunt them earn a lot of money from the sale of wildlife meat and organs.

Due to this, various tribal tribes in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh still hunt wild animals as a traditional occupation. Iron and steel traps and tweezers are used to hunt wild animals. In the Satpuda range, some tribals are also skilled in hunting by throwing stones at the heads of wild animals with the help of a traditional sling. Such hunting is done while the wild animals are drinking water near a water body. Cotton nets ('Wagharam' in the local tribal dialect) are also used for hunting wild animals.

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Blue bulls and wild boars killed by farmers

On the lower side of the Satpuda range, in the Yaval, Raver, and Chopda talukas of Jalgaon district, Blue bulls and wild boars cause a great deal of destruction of crops. To protect the crops, farmers kill blue bulls and buffaloes by setting various traps such as using flour balls or food poisoning. These types of incidents occur every year during the rainy season and in winter when the crops are in bloom. Although the farmers are doing this as a loss to the crops, the forest department has filed cases against many of them.

'Katni' and 'Bahenia' are the major hunting gangs

Both these gangs are from Madhya Pradesh. Behenia Pardhi is a tribe in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh. Hunting is the main occupation of the people of this tribe. As this tribe is found in Katni district, this hunting gang is named 'Katni' after the name of the district.

Whether it is Sariska in Rajasthan, Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh, or Melghat, the Katni gang is involved in tiger hunting from time to time. Apart from this, due to the Beheniya Pardhi tribe, the hunter group is also known as 'Behenia' gang. The Katni gang is not active just recently, they have been active in hunting for many years. The group focuses on tiger hunting. Tigers have been hunted many times by this group in the forests of Melghat or Madhya Pradesh. The smugglers catch the tiger with a steel trap and then kill the tiger and smuggle its skin.

The emphasis is on tiger, bear hunters

The Katni gang, which was active in Melghat and Madhya Pradesh till now, is now seen in the hills of Satpuda. Because the local tribes here encroach on the forest land and cultivate it. they don’t hunt. Similarly, some of the recent wildlife poaching incidents have resulted in the involvement of Katni and Bahenia gangs.

Katni gang members always have guns for hunting. They hunt tigers and bears by setting steel traps in the forest. After a tiger or bear is trapped in a steel trap, it is killed by a gun. The Katni tribe is notorious for hunting tigers. Tiger skins, claws, and other organs are sold by hunting tigers. Wildlife enthusiasts also said that tiger skins were being sent to Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand.