Experts from the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) imparted a special orientation session on camera trap exercises at the Tinsukia Wildlife Division. The orientation was conducted on August 17& 18 for the forest officials and field staff of Dibru-Saikhowa NP, Borajan WLS, Bherjan WLS, and Padumoni WLS which included two Ranges- Guijan and Saikhowa, respectively.

Deepankar Barman with Saikhowa Range Officer during the session; Photo by Jiban Chetry

36 forest staff attended the program which includes, officials and field staff (forest guard, forester beat officer, boatman, Deputy Range Officer, and rangers) who were trained on how to use camera traps for animal inventory, movement, and database management.

The workshop began with a brief introduction by Mr. Deepankar Barman, Field Officer WTI D’ering-Dibru-Saikhowa Elephant Link Project, on the scientific approaches to setting up camera traps to observe animals. He also discussed the significance of camera trap training and how camera traps can aid in tracking an animal’s movement, observing its behavior, and estimating its range.

Frontline staff of Saikhowa Range; Photo by Jiban Chetry

He also described the fundamentals of the camera trap techniques, and operation and also emphasized the importance of conducting a sign survey before installing a camera trap. The field officers went into great detail about how the camera trap method aids in the capture of poachers.

Frontline Staff of Guijan Range; Photo by Lalbihari Sahni

Following the lectures, a practical session on camera trap techniques for frontline forest staff was also held, where the main practice was on installing camera traps in the forest area, including the elephant corridor. The session ended with a group discussion.

The orientation program was conducted as part of WTI’s D’ering-Dibru-Saikhowa Elephant Link Project, which is funded by the World Land Trust (WLT).