BENGALURU: In view of rising concerns over protection of forests and to nab poachers, the forest department has urged the state government to provide funds to install more Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) based camera traps in the forests.
Forest officials said strengthening the e-surveillance system with artificial intelligence (AI) will help intensify protection measures, especially when there is severe staff crunch. There are 3,000 such smart camera traps in various forest divisions, each costing Rs 25,000.
With procurement of more indigenous GSM camera traps, real time monitoring is being done and alerts are being issued. This is apart from efforts being done to increase the foot patrolling by staffers, which is equally essential in areas where there is poor network, the officials said.
After the recent shooting incident in Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) at Hannur, the department has installed 10 GMS-enabled camera traps. In CWS alone, 10 GSM camera traps have been installed in each of the four ranges. They have helped in the inquiry into poaching incidents in Gopinatham and MM Hills ranges.
The department is also using the GSM-based camera traps to track the movement of wildlife near human habitations to send alerts to locals. In some locations, sound boxes are installed with these camera traps to deter elephants when they try to cross over to human habitations, the official said.