Taking advantage of the nationwide lockdown enforced to contain Covid-19, poachers in recent weeks have become active in several forests of the district, according to the Division Forest Office in Rautahat.

A team of forest employees on Sunday encountered poachers in a forest at Gujara Municipality Ward No. 2 in Rautahat. The forest guards tried to detain the poachers by firing two warning shots but the latter fled the scene.

“We attempted to arrest the poachers but they ran away,” said Rajeshwor Sah, the ranger who led the patrol team. According to him, the hunters left a musket in the forest as they fled.

“We have increased forest patrolling in recent days, as more poachers and timber smugglers might enter the forests during the lockdown. Some locals might also enter the forests to hunt wild animals,” said Binod Singh, chief at the Division Forest Office.

The poachers generally target deer, wild boars, blue bulls, rabbits and various species of birds. They are usually active in the dry months between March and May, and some even set forests on fire to trap wild animals, says Singh.

Poaching and smuggling of timber have gone unchecked in several forests of the district in recent years. The incidents of poaching are often reported in Chocha, Chandrapur, Gaidatar, Rangapur, Balari, among other areas of Rautahat.