Sloth Bears in India to be Monitored by UAS
In an effort to monitor sloth bears, and prevent conflicts between the bears and humans, the Karnataka state government will soon begin using UAS to monitor the mammals at the Daroji sanctuary in Ballari and Gudekote sanctuary in Koppal, both located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
One of the organizations assisting the department with this project is Wildlife SOS. In an article with the Times of India, co-founder of Wildlife, Kartick Satyanarayan, explained the reasoning behind using unmanned systems.
“The UAVs, which will fly at a height of 400 meters or above, will give us a better imagery analysis to study the sloth bear movement and the breach or fragmentation in the bear habitat in these two districts,” said Satyanarayan.
Technically, the final hurdle before the UAS can be used is final approval from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), but because the project is being carried out by the government, the DGCA’s approval is considered just a formality.
Data collected from the project, which will use UAS from the ShadowView Foundation, will be analyzed by the Karnataka state government.
