App to record data of animals rescued by dept

Mumbai: Mumbai and Thane will now have a mobile application containing data on animals rescued by the forest department and wildlife wardens. The Thane forest department has initiated an app to connect and bring together all wildlife-rescuing individuals and organisations so as to collect, manage and organise rescue and rehabilitation data as part of the records. The app will be inaugurated on Tuesday, May 22, on the occasion of International Day for Biodiversity.

The application will be used by various wildlife activists and NGOs engaged in rescue operations to register animals and birds rescued by them. Jitendra Ramgaonkar, deputy conservator of forests, Thane division, said, “As such, the forest department will have wider data on animals and birds rescued every week or month or year. It will also help us know which animals are more prone to accidents and in which areas. We had prepared the app but many did not know about it. We will be launching the beta version on Tuesday.”

Initially, the app will not be open for public use as the forest department is trying to analyse its effectiveness. Sunish Subramanian, secretary of Plants and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and wildlife warden for Mumbai City, said, “Every NGO and wildlife activist will be given a unique username and password. We can geotag the location from where the animal was rescued and post a picture of the rescued animals”