Bhubaneswar: In order to keep a track of migration route of the birds coming to Chilika lake in Odisha, the Forest department, for the first time, has equipped two flamingos with solar-powered GPS-GSM trackers.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) (PCCF) Prem Kumar Jha revealed this in a post on X on Saturday. Th initiative aims at tracking the migratory patterns of the annual aviation guests to Chilika, he added.
“For the first time, a GPS-GSM solar-powered tracker was fitted on 2 Greater Flamingos at Nalabana, Chilika, by Odisha Wildlife Org & @wii_india led by Dr Suresh Kumar. This will track movements and migration patterns of these majestic birds. #Chilika,” he said in the post.
The solar-powered trackers with Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) would provide real-time data transmission, Forest department sources said. The tracking project is part of a broader conservation strategy aimed at protection of ecosystems and wildlife in Odisha, they added.