BAREILLY: In an unprecedented initiative, the forest officials of Bijnor have started using unmanned aerial vehicles in the form of quadcopters to track the movements of the tigress that has allegedly turned maneater.

A quadcopter looks like a mini helicopter and uses the camera installed in it to click or record objects on the ground. It works on two different modes — remote control and autopilot. Depending on weather conditions, a battery operated quadcopter can cover a distance of nearly 100 square kilometers in one day.

“We conducted a trial of the device on Tuesday and the results were quick and reliable. The resolution of these quadcopters is at least 10 times better than Google Earth and this will help in locating the tigress,” said Kamlesh Kumar, forest conservator, Moradabad division.

“As the last death was reported from Sahuwala forest range in Bijnor, we are focusing on this area to search the animal. We will also use the device in other ranges like Badhapur, Amaangarh, Kaudiya and villages situated at the fringes of Corbett,” added Kumar.

The forest officials are taking help of two Allahabad-based software professionals in their operation. “If needed, we would get more quadcopters,” said Salil Shukla, sub-divisional forest officer, Bijnor.

In the past 51 days, the maneater tigress has allegedly killed seven persons, one in Sambhal district and three each in Moradabad and Bijnor divisions. In the meantime, two deaths were reported from Corbett Tiger Reserve but officials claimed that it was the work of another male tiger.

Apart from using quadcopters, the forest department will install 25 cameras received from Wildlife Institute of India , Dehradun to track the animal. This will increase the total number of cameras to 40 as 15 have already been placed in the area. Besides this, six shooters have been given different territories to locate the tigress.

