AI cameras to be setup in forests to tigers, alert villagers

According to forest department data, 21 people lost their lives between January and April 2025 on account of attacks by wild animals

MUMBAI: Amid the rising incidents of tiger and leopard attacks on people living close to forests, the state government has decided to install 3,145 artificial intelligence-based cameras in tiger reserves such as Pench, Tadoba, Navegaon and the Nagpur forests. These cameras will capture the alarm calls of herbivorous animals in response to tiger and leopard movement towards nearby villages, and will send alerts which will help save the lives of villagers.

Mumbai, India - June 28, 2020: Tigers in Eastern Vidarbha landscape are at a risk. The proposed Chandrapur greenfield airport site corridor, is located in central Chanda, which is 32km from Chaprala Wildlife Sanctuary, 38km from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) buffer, and next to the proposed Kanhargaon wildlife sanctuary. The proposed airport area has tiger, leopard, and wild prey occupancy. It will be not only disastrous for wild animals, but also dangerous for civil aviation according to Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and National Board for Wildlife (NBWL). The tiger corridor in eastern Vidarbha is at risk. (Photo by Maharashtra forest department)

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the installation of the AI-based cameras was signed on Saturday with the Maharashtra Research and Vigilance for Enhanced Law Enforcement Ltd (MARVEL) at Nagpur by revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and minister of state for finance Ashish Jaiswal. MARVEL was established in 2024 by the state government for use in the police force.

According to forest department data, 21 people lost their lives between January and April 2025 on account of attacks by wild animals. It was against this backdrop that the state government decided to take various measures such as solar fencing around tiger forests. The installation of AI-based cameras is the next step in this direction.

Harsh Poddar, chief executive officer of MARVEL, and superintendent of police, Nagpur district, said that of the 3,145 cameras, 875 would be installed in Pench, 525 in Tadoba-Andhari, 600 in Navegaon and 1,145 in Nagpur forest territory. “The process of installation will be completed by December 2025,” he said.

Poddar added that the cameras would capture the alarm calls given by several herbivorous animals during tiger and leopard movement in the area and would send alerts to the forest department. “We are also developing an app service, which will send alerts to the sarpanch and other prominent village authorities,” he said. “A siren will then be sounded to alert residents of the village.”

Bawankule said that the AI technology was being adopted to curb the man-animal conflict and save lives. “These cameras will alert villagers to wild animals movements towards villages or agricultural areas near forests,” he said. “The forest department can then respond faster to the situation.”