The installation will be done in and around the Army and ITBP camps and in the first stage, nearly 40 cameras are to be installed
Dehradun: The forest department of Uttarakhand has decided to install solar-powered camera traps in the upper reaches of Himalayas to monitor snow leopards, which are listed as “vulnerable” in the IUCN’s Red List. The installation will be done in and around the Army and ITBP camps and in the first stage, nearly 40 cameras are to be installed, officials told TOI. The camera images would be used for population census of snow leopards which is all set to commence from this winter in Uttarakhand.
“The installation of solar-powered cameras would take place in Niti and Mana Valley, Malari, Munsyari, Ghansali, and in Badrinath temple zone, as in 2006-07, snow leopard pugmarks were spotted there as well. The entire landscape where snow leopards are expected to be present will be monitored through these cameras. It will help us in vigilance of these areas which are otherwise very tough to inspect frequently,” said JS Suhag, chief wildlife warden of Uttarakhand.
According to sources, there are very high chances that the cameras set up near Army and ITBP areas would capture movement of snow leopards. “According to our records, a snow leopard’s images were captured near these camps last year and it was mainly because of the presence of easy food for them there,” said a senior forest officer.
According to the internal estimation of Wildlife Institute of India (WII), there are around 80-90 snow leopards in the Uttarakhand landscape. The census of the snow leopards will be started this year across the Himalayan belt. For this purpose, the DFOs of Uttarakhand have already been given basic training.
Source: TNN
