Predator turns protector in Nayagarh

NAYAGARH: A killing spree lasting five years at the Baisipalli Wildlife Sanctuary ended in a curious change of heart when Mahindra Mallick realised that the ecosystem needs to be balanced.
A poacher from the Talabira village (in Banigochha east range), Mallick had escaped the law and hunted in the Mahanadi wildlife division until he ran out of luck on May 29 for killing a barking deer and was remanded in judicial custody.
After a three-month stint in prison, Mallick told the divisional forest officer (Mahanadi division), Anshu Pragya Das, of his interest in joining the wildlife wing's protection drive. He was offered a job and has been a watcher in the department since August.
"I vowed to bring an end to poaching. My information about poachers has led to the arrest of three persons. Many poaching attempts have been checked. I now feel like I am doing something worthwhile for myself, society and nature," Mahendra told the TOI during a visit to the sanctuary.
Earlier, Mallick sold the meat of hunted wild boars, sambar deer, barking deer and mouse deer to people who kept up a steady demand that in turn caused him to hunt more. He also organized feasts with his friends. He admitted that he has disclosed the names of other shooters to the wildlife wing.
In addition to Mahendra, four more poachers - Surendra Pradhan, Uddhaba Deep, Ramesh Dehuri and Jagannath Naik - who were hunting animals in the Kusang range have joined the department's wildlife protection cause.
"The inputs of reformed poachers who have stopped killing animals has helped us check poaching to a considerable extent. Since they know the nitty-gritty of the topography, weapons, routes and tricks used by poachers, it helps other field staff, including the anti-poaching squad, stay alert," said Das.
"They have helped us apprehend eight other poachers. We are paying Rs 5,000 every month to reformed poachers who are engaged as watchers," she added.