Drones to help foresters at Nagarahole

Mysuru: Major challenges faced by foresters manning Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, which is spread over Mysuru and Kodagu districts, is its topography, thick forest cover and poachers. Soon, an UAV will come in handy to the foresters to keep an eye on the 847.9sqkm area of this reserve. Two donors have joined hands with the forest department to use technology to improve surveillance. It will be the first forest in the state to be monitored by a drone.
Phaneesh Murthy, chairman, PM ventures, and Tiger Ramesh, CEO, Magnasoft, have decided to donate a Q4i Thermal drone. The highlight of this drone is that it can function both in day and the night. It can capture videos and photos in a four-km radius. Officials said the drone can be used to monitor the movement of wild animals too. Recently, the department was monitoring three orphan tiger cubs and an injured elephant calf inside the tiger reserve based on field inputs they collected. tnn