Camera trapping being used to monitor wildlife animals in Margallas

Islamabad: The camera trapping with motion sensors is being successfully used to monitor and protect the wildlife animals like leopards and deer in the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP).

The official details of the project initiated last year revealed the wildlife animals avoid coming out of thick forest during the daytime due to vehicular traffic and human interference. It is due to this fact the camera trapping technology was adopted to trace, monitor and protect the wildlife animals that face different kinds of problems with a change in weather conditions.

These camera trapping devices throw infrared rays in the night time that never disturbs the animals but makes their clear footages. The camera trapping has shown that there are two types of leopard families in the Margalla Hills, which means that animals that comprise food chain are growing in this area.

The record maintains that leopards and lions sit at the top of the food chain if they stay in any area it means that all the animals that comprise food chain exist there. The extinction of a single animal species disturb the food chain after which leopards leave the area for other destinations.

World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan has shared an international mobile phone application called Cyber Tracker with Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) that provides the location of the forest guards that work in the field.

The forest guards share pictures, videos, and sounds of the birds and animals through this application and remain in contact with the digital analysts who work from the main office. The camera trapping system helped trace three bears in the recent past, that was later shifted to a safe sanctuary in Balkasar.

Now the IWMB is making short- and long-term plans in the light of the data obtained through camera trapping that would focus on enhancing the number of wildlife animals like leopards and deer besides providing a natural environment to native and migratory birds