Now, the department is not taking any chances with the lives of the animals.
The forest department on Tuesday tranquilised tigress ST3 at Sariska to change the radio collar of the tigress that had been lying dormant for the past three months.
Tigress ST5 fell victim to poaching right after its collar stopped working, while the forest department kept thinking that the tigress was alive. Now, the department is not taking any chances with the lives of the animals. Therefore, new radio collar, with added advantage of GPS updates, was fitted to the tigress.
After the radio collar of tigress ST5 was removed citing technical faults and no new collar was tied, the tigress was poached. On the other hand, the radio collar on tiger ST11 helped the forest department discover the death of the tiger by a poacher's trap.
"The forest department has learnt its lessons the hard way. So, on Tuesday, the radio collar on one of the tigers at Sariska was changed after it stopped working about three months ago. Interestingly, there was opposition from experts when the collar was removed from ST5, who had pushed for fitting a new collar immediately. However, the forest authorities refused to do so, and thus a tigress was lost," officials said.
However, learning from its mistake, the department has taken a better step now. "Radio collar technology is old, but costs lakhs of rupees. We found out about a new radio collar that not only sends the EVF signals of the old technology but also GPS signals on regular intervals. Radio collars have their limitations as they do not work properly in valleys and difficult terrains. However the GPS signal can be transmitted from any spot. Also, since it is continuous, the department would know of the animal's movement at any time," says Govind Sagar Bhardwaj, CCF and Field Director, Project Tiger Sariska.
Pros Of New Tech
- The new radio collar not only sends EVF signals of the old technology, but also GPS signals at regular intervals.
- Radio collars have their limitations as they do not work properly in difficult terrains. But GPS signal can be transmitted from any spot, thus helping in constantly tracking the big cats.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Sariska tigers")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}