VIPS TIMES
DUDHWA TIGER RESERVE TO
BE UNDER COMPLETE DRONE
CAMERA SURVE .
LAKHIMPUR KHERI: The Dudhwa
Tiger Reserve (DTR) will soon be
under complete drone camera
surveillance, DTR field director
Ramesh Pandey told PTI here, today.
Work for the surveillance
programme, which is being called e-
bird project, has already begun. A
pilot operation was conducted on
International Tiger Day, July 29,
where drone cameras were used to
monitor rhinos in the rehabilitation
area. "Within just 30 minutes, we
were able to locate and monitor nine
rhinos in the rehabilitation area. We
managed to keep a close watch on
them without being noticed," Pandey
said. The e-bird project is a joint
initiative of DTR and Wildlife Institute
of India (WII), Dehradun. WII,
Dehradun, will provide required
number of drone cameras to DTR and
also give training to the forest staff,
Pandey said. "Drone cameras will
assist the patrolling teams to keep a
watch on the movement of tigers,
leopards, rhinos, Dudhwa jumbos and
other wild species. They will further
help in habitat management,
countering man-animal conflicts and
checking criminal activities," said "To
ascertain the number of drones
required, WII will take up surveys in
all parts of DTR - Dudhwa National
Park (680 sq km),
Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary (204 sq
km), Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary
(478 sq km) and Dudhwa buffer zone
also known as
north Kheri forest division (1,107 sq
km)," he said.
Monitoring wildlife in the tiger
reserve has been a major challenge
for field staffers over the years. The
rough terrain is
interspersed by Mohana, Sharda
rivers and numerous small canals and
water bodies. Moreover presence of
carnivorous
animals, and waterlogged routes
during the rainy season pose a great
challenge to the patrolling teams.
During the monsoon season,
patrolling is severely restricted and
DTR officials hope the e-bird project
will help better monitor
the area.