The app has been assisting officials in not only tracking anti-poaching camp (APC) personnel, but helping them get precise, scientific information for analysing and formulating policies for better wildlife management.

Presently, Hejje is being used for tracking forest staff and ascertaining the health of wildlife habitat in some of Karnataka’s protected areas like Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and Bandipur National Park.

The APC staff use a smartphone installed with the app during their routine patrols. They collect information about animal sightings, water level in lakes, suspicious activities and tree population.

“Real-time tracking of our staff has become a reality,” says Vasant Reddy, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, whose jurisdiction covers an area of 1,200 sqkm across three districts.

This sanctuary has 30 APCs of which 25 are equipped with the app installed at a cost of `3 lakh. Plans are on to procure another five units soon. Each APC covers 7-8 km per day and coverage increases in sensitive areas like Gopinatham and Sangam ranges.

Reddy said, “The app helps monitor the foot patrol, their start time, stop time and the distance covered by each APC patrol. This way, foresters cannot make any false claims, if they have covered only say 5 km. With Hejje on our fingertips, we ask them to cover the rest of the area the same day. Further, it helps us take immediate action in times of emergency.”

Director of Nagarhole Tiger Reserve R Gokul says, “With 57 installations, it has boosted the confidence of micro-level staff to manage a terrain of 643 sqkm as they have to patrol huge swathes every day. It is an empowering technology to get real-time data every day. Earlier, incidents of animal deaths could not be reported, but now with the foot patrol covering all routes, they immediately upload pictures of such incidents. However, it is not an absolute answer for every problem as, during heavy rain, the odour of decomposed bodies can be lost.” According to Chief Conservator of Forests, Madikeri division, Manoj Kumar, this is the first time they are getting precise, scientific data which can be collated and analysed for formulation of future policies regarding man management, staff allocation, and resources for managing a particular wildlife habitat.

“We are using both wireless and Hejje for habitat tracking. Initially, it was a bit difficult, but now it has become a good tool for monitoring our staff and identification of problem areas where maybe more staff can be deployed. Through regular monitoring, the movement of tigers and elephants can be tracked by collating historical changes for establishing a corridor.”

More About Hejje: Hejje is a simple, easy to use, cost-effective Android mobile application. The app is intended to communicate and collect all vital information of a habitat.

All the alerts and notifications from Hejje are sent out as SMSs to the assigned number on a real-time basis. Pictures, information and other material can be uploaded and shared. The collected information is analysed by the officials of that protected area.