Leopard skins seized, top Delhi wildlife NGO accused of nexus with poachers

Wildlife SOS, a Delhi-based wildlife conservation NGO, is under scrutiny for alleged involvement with poachers, following the seizure of leopard skins by Madhya Pradesh State Tiger Task Force (STTF). According to investigators, Bhagwan Singh alias Salim and his associate Wasim, arrested for an alleged big-cat poaching operation, were on the payroll of Wildlife SOS CEO Kartick Satyanarayan. Both men reportedly admitted to acting on Satyanarayan's instructions.

Madhya Pradesh's chief wildlife warden, Sameeta Rajoura, has requested Satyanarayan to appear before an Investigating Officer, while Wildlife SOS co-founder Geeta Seshamani was unavailable for comment. The investigation began when four poachers were arrested with ten leopard skins on July 23 near the Gwalior-Agra highway, though Wildlife SOS had credited its own Forest Watch anti-poaching unit for the bust.

Further field investigations uncovered multiple sites with buried leopard remains in Shivpuri and Morena forests, and the Wildlife Institute of India is conducting DNA matching on the seized skins. Three leg-hold traps were also recovered, leading investigators to Singh and then to Wasim. Singh has a long history as a wildlife trader, and was on Wildlife SOS' payroll for at least five years.

According to sources, the network scouted forest areas around Shivpuri and Morena using a Wildlife SOS vehicle, distributed leg-hold traps from Haryana, and arranged for poachers to carry the leopard skins to a decoy buyer. The network allegedly poached leopards for at least ten months, creating demand for skins and distributing traps in a sensitive landscape. The investigation raises concerns about potential involvement of tigers in the same trapping network.