Blackbuck.
Credit: iStock photo
Chikkamagaluru: Three blackbucks were found dead with bullet injury following a gun fire near Kallenahalli village in Kadur taluk of Chikkamagaluru district on Tuesday.
The carcasses were found in private agricultural land adjoining the Basur Amruth Mahal Kaval Blackbuck Conservation Reserve. According to forest officials, the dead animals included two females and aged between one-and-a-half and two years. Acting on information provided by local residents, forest department officials rushed to the spot and conducted an inspection. Signs of gunfire and tyre marks indicating vehicle movement were found at the location where the carcasses were discovered.
Post-mortem examinations have been conducted and samples collected for further tests. A case has been registered under the Wildlife Protection Act, said Deputy Conservator of Forests Ramesh Babu. Environmentalists suspect that the blackbucks may have fallen victim to poachers’ gunfire. They believe the poachers might have taken away the bigger animals and left the fawns behind. They have urged forest officials to conduct a thorough investigation and arrest the poachers.