Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur district, Rajasthan, announced on June 9, 2026 a major technological upgrade for tiger conservation. The reserve authorities plan to deploy GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) cameras and satellite collars to enable real-time, round-the-clock monitoring of tigers across the reserve.
GSM cameras transmit images and video data via cellular networks, allowing forest officials to conduct remote and continuous surveillance without physical presence in the field. This significantly reduces human disturbance in tiger habitats while ensuring uninterrupted data flow. Satellite collars, fitted on individual tigers, provide GPS-based real-time location tracking, enabling wildlife managers to study movement patterns, territorial behaviour, and overall health indicators of each animal.
This initiative comes against the backdrop of two significant concerns that emerged in 2026: a Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) alert raised in May 2026, and increasing territorial conflicts among tigers within the reserve. CDV, a serious viral disease, poses a significant threat to big cat populations and necessitates swift identification and isolation of affected animals — a task that real-time monitoring technology is well-positioned to support.
Ranthambore is one of India's premier tiger reserves, established under Project Tiger — a flagship conservation programme launched by the Government of India in 1973. Project Tiger has been instrumental in reversing the decline of the tiger population across the country, and Ranthambore has become a symbol of its success, now hosting one of the densest tiger populations in India. The deployment of advanced technology at Ranthambore is expected to serve as a model for other tiger reserves across the country.