Endangered musk deer of Uttarakhand falling victim to poachers

The musk deer is an endangered species and poachers set fire to forests to flush out these animals. The months of November and December have sub-zero temperatures and forest fores should not happen in these temperatures. But, high-altitude areas of Dharchula and Munsiyari are experiencing such a phenomenon.
This would mean that these forest fires are not a natural affair but man made and that poachers are setting them off to trap endangered animals like musk deer.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 2 January 2017.

It seems that since the first week of November 2016, residents of Munsiyari and Dharchula have been witness to smoke from forest fires more than six times in different parts of the two blocks. Such winter forest fire incidents in Uttarakhand are indications that poachers use it to trap and kill musk deer at such high altitudes.
The poachers have weapons and the number of forest guards is inadequate - the locations are very remote and any inspection needs would need a large team. Moreover, the area is vast and guards need to have proper equipment to tackle the poachers.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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