Baripada: Forest Department will install more than 500 artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled surveillance cameras across sensitive areas of the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) over the next three to four months to strengthen wildlife protection and anti-poaching efforts. STR Field Director and Regional Chief Conservator of Forests Prakash Chand Gogineni said the new cameras will increase real-time surveillance coverage by nearly 50 per cent, improving monitoring of wildlife and forest activities. The tiger reserve currently operates about 900 AI cameras across its North and South divisions and the Baripada, Rairangpur and Karanjia forest divisions. Following the system’s success, the department has procured an additional 500 cameras at a cost of about Rs2.25 crore. According to Gogineni, the surveillance network has already helped identify and arrest several people attempting to enter the tiger reserve illegally, marking a significant achievement in wildlife conservation and protection.