Haldwani, March 16 -- The Terai East Forest Division has launched a high-tech drive against man-wildlife conflict with a thermal drone designed to pinpoint tigers and leopards in pitch-dark, dense forests and sugarcane fields, forest officials said. Divisional forest officer Himanshu Bagri said the division's forests span around 82,489 hectares across Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar, and Champawat districts, stretching to the borders of Nepal and Uttar Pradesh. "The division is adjacent to Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary and Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, which have a significant population of tigers and leopards," Bagri said. He noted that big cats often vanish into sugarcane fields or thick forest patches during conflict incidents in the Terai region, evading detection. "Conventional drones also face limitations in such conditions, particularly in sugarcane fields," he said. "To address this challenge, the forest department is bringing in a thermal drone that can detect animals based on their body temperature," Bagri added. Officials said the drone delivers live aerial visuals like standard models but adds thermal sensors to spot animals via body heat. Once a species' temperature profile-such as for tigers or leopards-is loaded, it can detect and track them. Bagri said one thermal drone will launch on a trial basis. "If the experiment proves successful, additional drones may be deployed range-wise across the division," he said....