The use of camera traps at Sanjay Gandhi National Park have helped the authorities immensely, with forest department officials and researchers re-discovering animals that were absent from the park records for decades together. As per the information gathered and analysed till date, two new animals — the ruddy mongoose and porcupine — have been found at SGNP.
“It is possible that the list of discovery may become longer by the end of this month when the data analysis is complete,” an official said.
“After looking into the existing data and records about the wildlife in the national park, we re-discovered the existence of the ruddy mongoose and porcupine,” Zeeshan A. Mirza, a volunteer, researcher and naturalist involved the in camera trap project, confirmed.
“In order to discover more species, both researchers and wildlife experts need to carry out extensive and exhaustive studies,” Vidya Athreya, wildlife scientist from Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), who is part of the team on the project, said.
Forest officials had started using camera traps in SGNP from September 2011 onwards, to get wildlife details, particularly that of leopards. The purpose for using it was to monitor the movements and habitat of leopards and accordingly, understand the man-animal conflict. There is a need to understand the man-animal conflict, as several human beings have lost their lives due to this, Ms Athreya claimed.
The team led by Ms Athreya is currently also in the process of collecting scats or droppings of leopards for DNA analysis. “This will help gauge the population of leopards in the national park,” she said.
The DNA analysis will also help identify the preys of leopards.