Islamabad: Motion sensor and infrared ray equipped camera installations at the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) recently allowed wildlife officials to discover two new types of leopard species previously unknown to the area, according to a news report published on August 21. These cameras were installed last year to monitor and protect the park’s wildlife.
Due to human movements, these animals remain in their hideouts during the daytime and came out only at night; this is why the authority decided to install cameras to monitor the animal’s wellbeing. The identification of the leopard specifies have convinced the authorities that the park is rich with animals from various parts of the food chain. Experts have revealed that if a single animal species gets extinct from the park, the leopards would leave the area and head off to other destinations.
In order to further help the Wildlife Department, the World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan (WWF) has shared their mobile application called ‘Cyber Tracker’ with the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) to track and guard these animals. Data collected from the field staff is shared with the digital analysts at the main office. Based on this, the IWMB is making short and long-term plans to enhance the number of wildlife animals in the park.
