BENGALURU: Even as tiger assessment is going on and camera trap images are being compiled, the NTCA and WII already have a data bank of whopping three-and-a-half crore images. Of these, 80,000 are of tigers alone. For the first time, the two departments have decided to document all the images of all the wildlife. They will be used to track and monitor all wildlife cases, especially poaching. Karnataka has shared 21,07,115 images from Nagarahole, Kali, Bhadra and BRT Tiger Reserves.
In case of Bandipur Tiger Reserve as errors were reported by NTCA in the installation of cameras and data card errors, the exercise of the camera trap assessment is being redone. “It started all over again from April 14 and will be completed by May 25,” a senior Karnataka forest department official said.
“We have three-and-a-half crore images and more are yet to come as camera trap assessment is still
going on in most parts of the country. Each image is valuable and is being documented just like that of tigers. While management with tigers and leopards is easy, the task becomes challenging in case of sloth bears. The method will be different for elephants as they have unique features. While tuskers are easy to identify and trace, females will have to be monitored as assessed with their calves, herds, colonies and congregation patterns,” a senior WII researcher said.
Since the images are going to be recorded, officials from NTCA have told all forest staffers to ensure that accurate and clear photographs are sent. No raw data is being entertained. “We are creating a database of all the edited images of all the animals with us. The tigers are numbered and the same is being done for leopards and elephants. For other animals, the images will be saved and they will used to know and verify whenever wildlife deaths (natural and un-natural) occur. This database will also be useful in poaching cases and court litigations,” the WII researcher added.