NATION | Tuesday, February 16, 2010 | Email | Print |  | Back
GPS to track lions at Gir
Rathin Das | Ahmedabad
In an effort to upgrade the conservation and protection of the Asiatic lions in the 1,412 square kilometres of the Gir National Park and Sanctuary, a Global Positioning System (GPS) would soon be deployed in the area.
The programme envisages providing the forest department staff with GPS gadgets which would be linked to a Geographical Information System (GIS) interface.
“This would help real time monitoring of movement of the staff who would in turn monitor the movement of the lions”, principal chief conservator of forests Pradeep Khanna told The Pioneer on Monday.
This monitoring system has nothing to do with the forthcoming census of Asiatic lions whose number was 359 in 2005, Khanna added.
The Rs 15 crore project would have maps loaded in the GIS computer that would locate the GPS gadgets given to the field staff. The GPS gadgets would be with the foresters and not to be fixed on the lions, clarified the PCCF.
The GPS tracking of the lions linked with the GIS interface would lead to better deployment of resources and manpower for an effective monitoring of the animals, explained Khanna.
The installation of the GPS comes close on the heels of the Gir’s 228 forest rangers being given modern kits to prevent poaching activities in the area.
These foresters were chosen from among 490 staff, who were trained in modern techniques in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).
The GPS monitoring of the Asiatic lions in its last natural habitat would also include other
high-tech equipment like night vision device and automated sensors.
Though the number of lions in the Gir area has steadily increased in the last two decades, poaching of more than half a dozen of big cats in 2007 had brought the protection issue into sharp focus leading to the setting up of a task force which recommended the high-tech monitoring and tracking system that would be implemented soon.
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