15 SGNP Animals to Get Radio Collars as TBMs Tunnel Underneath Mumbai Park

In an effort to monitor the effects of subterranean infrastructure work, researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Maharashtra Forest Department are preparing to fit radio collars on 15 wild animals across Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai. The initiative comes as tunnel boring machines operate through the hills beneath the protected forest.

This marks the first time that leopards, spotted deer, and sambar deer in the national park will be fitted with radio collars to evaluate whether underground tunnelling alters their landscape use and movement patterns.

The project will track a total of 15 animals, comprising five leopards, five spotted deer, and five sambar deer. As part of the tracking setup, one of the leopards will be fitted with a camera-equipped collar to capture additional data.

Researchers plan to study the animals' behaviour and ranging patterns before and after the tunnelling work to assess the overall impact of the engineering activity on the park's wildlife population.