With the Salman Khan case throwing the spotlight on poaching, it is the apt time to highlight a recent report in this paper with reference to tiger skins. The report detailed that at the beginning of this week, the Vitthalwadi police issued a press note saying they had arrested two people with a tiger skin in their possession. The skin, though, is believed to be of some other animal, which had been painted with stripes, to dupe the customer. Now, the Forest Department is going to send the skin to a forensic lab for confirmation.

While there is an urgent need for better co-ordination between forest officials and the police, with the former being the experts when it comes to verifying the remains of an animal, the demand for animal skins is also a pointer that society needs a dose of rationalism rather than superstition.