Odisha govt fits GPS tracker on two birds to study migratory pattern

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to study the pattern of migration of birds visiting Chilika Lake every year during winter, the Odisha government fitted solar-powered trackers on two flamingos for the first time.

A senior forest department official said that the solar-powered trackers with global positioning system (GPS) and global system for mobile communications (GSM) would provide real-time data transmission.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Prem Kumar Jha said the initiative aims at tracking the migratory patterns of the annual aviation guests to Chilika Lake.

“For the first time, a GPS-GSM solar-powered tracker was fitted on 2 Greater Flamingo at Nalabana, Chilika, by Odisha Wildlife Org & @wii_india led by Dr. Suresh Kumar. This will track movements and migration pattern of these majestic birds. #Chilika @ForestDeptt@CMO_Odisha,” Jha said in a post on X.

Last year, around 11.37 lakh migratory birds of 187 species from far-flung places like Siberia, Russia, Mongolia and central and southeast Asia had thronged the Chilika Lake, the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia, the officials said.