Kendrapara: Forest personnel of Bhitarkanika National Park arrested two poachers and seized two brown-headed gulls from them.
The arrested poachers are Sukumar Maity, 25, of Pataparia and Mahadev Dakua, 30, of Keruanpala.
Forest personnel raided the Talachua ferry ghat after receiving information that two poachers had caught the birds at the mouth of river Kantiakhai in Kanika forest range.
The birds were later released near Talachua ferry ghat in the presence of local representatives.
The Forest personnel Thursday booked the two poachers under Section 9, 27 and 29 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and produced them in the JMFC court of Rajnagar.
They were remanded to custody after their bail pleas were rejected.
The brown-headed gull is found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, China, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is a migratory bird that comes to the coasts and large inland lakes of the Indian Subcontinent in winter.
Brown-headed gulls, which come to Bhitarkanika for their annual winter sojourn, return to their native places in March and April, said Dangamal forester Bijay Kumar Patra.
PNN