Cows come to rescue of Karnataka's 'tiger poachers'

Police in Mandya raided an alleged poacher's gang and found themselves bewildered after the raid.

The cops recieved a tip off that some gangs were smuggling tiger skins from Hunsur to Bengaluru. They started inspecting each and every vehicle passing on the road between these two locations.Eventually, they seized a car carrying a mind-blowing 130 tiger skins and arrested five persons who hailed from Hunsur Taluk.

This haul, if verified, could easily be one of the biggest poaching hauls in India, which is desperate to save its dwindling tiger population from ruthless poachers. If true, that is. Officers from the forest department and veterinary doctors were present at the spot to verify the authenticity of the skins

Happily for India's tigers, police and the forest officers were shocked when the samples were sent to the laboratory. Laboratory tests proved that the samples were not tiger skins at all, but rather well painted cow skins.

CH Sudheer, SP of Mandya district, told the media that they had released the five accused, since carrying cow skins is not illegal, and the forest department has also given up the case since it doesn’t come under wildlife act.

But somewhere out there in Karnataka, someone who has paid an enormous amount for a 'tiger skin' might want to take a second look - it just might be a cow.

• smuggling
• tiger
• cow
• police