NITK team helps forest dept track jumbos

Mangaluru: Based on a request from the forest department, a team from the Centre for System Design (CSD), NITK Surathkal assisted in tracking elephants in the Subrahmanya forest range. Pruthviraj U, assistant professor at the department of water resources and ocean engineering and part of CSD, told TOI that ‘aerial thermal imaging’ technology through drones was used to track the elephant. It may be recalled that two persons were killed at Renjilady village in an elephant attack on February 20, following which an operation to nab the tusker was launched. In an operation led by Dr Dinesh Kumar YK, deputy conservator of forests, Mangaluru division, the jumbo was nabbed on Thursday. The NITK team that assisted in the operations for three days included Shanker, Mohith, Manish, Abhijith, and Rakshith under the guidance of Pruthviraj U and Gangadharan KV, coordinator of CSD. Pruthviraj said that thermal cameras can detect heat signatures and are ideal for tracking elusive animals. They operate by detecting infrared radiation and can produce images in complete darkness, smoke, dust, and fog. They are commonly used for wildlife monitoring. According to Pruthviraj, academic institutions have a social obligation to promote knowledge and work for the betterment of society. For the past 10 years, CSD has been working with the Forest Department to encourage sustainable forest management and conservation through combined research, field studies and data gathering. TNN