Camera trap from Margalla Hills stolen

Islamabad: Some unknown people have stolen one of the state-of-the-art camera traps installed at the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) to keep vigil over the movement of the wildlife animals.

The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) has obtained the images of the three persons who are believed to be involved in theft of the camera trap. The details revealed that the IWMB is trying to get the identity of these persons to launch an inquiry whether these are really involved in this illegal act.

An official said if National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) provides them with identity of these persons then they would first inquire into the matter before registering First Information Report (FIR) of the incident.

It is pertinent to mention here that the IWMB had limited financial resources so it got these camera traps with the help of the non-governmental organizations. These cameras provide images and videos round the clock that enables the IWMB to get the first-hand knowledge about wildlife animals.

The footage recently got from these cameras showed the return of leopards, golden jackals, Indian porcupines, and small civet cats to the Margalla hills after series of lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic. There is still a need for more camera traps to monitor the whole area of the MHNP.

The IWMB chairperson said “If anyone can identify these people then he/she can contact us on 051 2601912. Our camera trap has gone missing and we think that these people are involved in this illegal act. If anyone removes a camera trap from MHNP we will file an FIR against him because these cameras are property of IWMB.”