Forests of N Bengal: 1,500 more camera traps to be installed

MP | 21 Apr 2023 | ALIPURDUAR: The West Bengal Forest Department has decided to install an additional 1500 camera traps to monitor the movement of tigers and other wild animals in the forests of North Bengal. 

Over the past two years, regular sightings of tigers have been observed in the three designated protected forests of North Bengal, including the Buxa Tiger Reserve Project, Neora Valley National Park, and Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. 

The Forest department’s camera traps have captured images of tigers in the Neora Valley National Park since 2017 and a picture of a tiger was also captured by a trap camera in the Buxa Tiger Reserve in December 2021. In December 2022, a picture of a tiger was captured through a camera trap in the Mahananda forest. 

The Forest department claims that besides these three designated forests, there is evidence of tiger presence in the expansive areas of Kalimpong and Darjeeling forest divisions. Moreover, the number of one-horned rhinoceros has increased in Jaldapara National Park and Gorumara National Park. 

Therefore, the Forest Department has decided to install an additional 1500 camera traps to reinforce the surveillance system, ensuring the safety of not only tigers but also other wild animals in the forests of North Bengal. 

The Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF), North Bengal, Rajendra Jakhar, said, “Since there have been repeated sightings and authentic photographs of tigers, we have taken the decision to give utmost importance to this matter and consider it with utmost gravity. 

Not just the tigers, the decision to install 1500 modern trap cameras is to ensure the safety of other wildlife in the jungle as well. In addition to that, drone surveillance will also be added, and a certain number of these trap cameras will be installed in national parks. 

A significant number of these cameras will be placed in buffer zones around the forests, where animal movements are often observed. They will be installed in all such areas.” 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/forests-of-n-bengal-1500-more-camera-traps-to-be-installed-515958