Jalpaiguri (North Bengal), Apr 18: Sashastra Seema Bal personnel on Thursday seized 10.7 kilogram of elephant tusks and arrested two poachers near Jaldapara National Park in Jalpaiguri.
In a joint operation conducted by Sashastra Seema Bal 17th battalion and wildlife officials of Jaldapara National Park in Kadomoni tea garden in Falakata block, two poachers were arrested early Thursday and the elephant tusks was seized.
Acting on a tip off the joint operation team posed as customers and laid a trap for the poachers.
Santosh Giri, assistant wildlife warden of Jaldapara National Park, said, they had prior information about the poachers trying to sell elephant ivory.
Five out of the seven poachers escaped and the remaining two were nabbed.
On Tuesday, wildlife officials found an adult elphant killed with its tusks missing in chipra forest in nearby Nuxa Tiger Reserve.
There is surge in the demand for elephant ivory, which quacks claim is beneficial in treating liver cancer.
Experts have repeatedly said that massive deforestation, poaching and encroachment in forest corridors have forced the elephants to move out of their natural habitats in search of food and water, making them an easy target.
India has over 50 percent of the world's Asiatic elephant population, but the number has dwindled in recent years.
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