Tiger Monitoring Software to be Launched in Corbett

In a move that is both innovative and important, in the sense that tigers are so vulnerable to poachers and natural disasters, Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) is in the final stages of introducing M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers- Intensive Protection and Ecological Status), a proprietary software developed to keep track of tigers and their prey. The monitoring system, which should be available within a few months, is expected to bolster anti-poaching and conservation efforts. Read more about Corbett National Park here.

DVS Khati, chief wildlife warden, while speaking to the media informed that the monitoring system has been approved by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Wildlife Institute of India, Zoological Society of London, and the World Wide Fund For Nature-India. Elaborating further he said that the system will fulfill a long-standing demand of the NTCA to incorporate newer technologies which have become very vital for effective patrolling and analyzing data in light of the extremely sophisticated weapons and methods adopted by poachers. The monitoring system has already proved its worth at the testing stage and looks set to serve CTR with distinction.

The monitoring system has been outfitted with customized software that is capable of mapping, analyzing and inferring apart from the customary filed protocols. Speaking on the strengths of the system, Sameer Sinha, the director of CTR, explained that the system will more or less put an end to customer way of field staff using mobile phones and GPRS for sending data to computers once they are back from patrolling duty. Instead they can now send real-time data from the ground to the CTR control room, and consequently the NTCA in Delhi. This will thus enable the security staff to reach a (crime) scene much quicker and thereby avert many incidents. The monitoring system is also capable of facilitating reports and maps and will monitor tigers, co-predators, prey and their habitat. He went on to add that they are currently in the process of training the staff to collect and enter data.

It is expected that the monitoring system will add the much needed firepower to fight against poachers. This he said would be possible because the system can figure out the condition and the latest developments of carnivores and their prey base. In addition, the impact of human encroachment and any corresponding disturbance and habitat loss would also be evaluated by the system. All these would contribute towards better conservation efforts and implementation of better management practices.