Itanagar, May 18 (PTI) Forest department personnel have intensified night patrolling in core zones and fringe areas of Pakke Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh's Pakke Kessang district, an official said on Saturday.

The patrolling has been intensified following the interception of four unidentified persons collecting frogs at Takosinyi pond area, about 20 km from the range office on May 15, Range Forest officer of Rilloh Range, Talo Dibo said.

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Dibo, who led the patrolling team, said patrolling was carried out to curb illegal fishing, and hunting of wild birds and animals in the Rilloh Wildlife Range headquarters and also to generate awareness among the general public.

As soon as the patrolling team arrived, the unidentified persons carrying a .22 rifle and a 12-bore SBBL gun fled deep into the forest.

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During the search, two local backpacks and two local machetes, three live cartridges of 12 bore SBBL gun inside the local backpack and one roasted Giant Black Squirrel were recovered, the official said.

The team could not chase the hunters who took benefit of the darkness, he said.

The hunters were equipped with firearms, the official added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)