The Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) is developing a monitoring system for Iberian Lynxes so that motorists can know almost in real time that there is a Lynxl nearby, and hopefully avoid it being run over.
In a statement made on Sunday, to mark World Wildlife Day, the ICNF said that the project, developed in partnership with Infraestruturas de Portugal and the company Waze, will allow the spatial monitoring of the Iberian Lynx using an application (app) for mobile devices, based on GPS navigation. Basically, “a tracking system capable of signaling the proximity of endangered lynxes near various roads”, initially in the Algarve and Alentejo.
“For now, the system is being tested on national roads (EN) 122, 123 and on the IC27 in Alentejo and Algarve.
The alerts are triggered as soon as the lynx enter virtual areas of 200 metres wide, adjacent to these roads, on both sides of the road”, says the ICNF.
The institute adds that the expectation is that this new technology “will offer a greater degree of protection for Iberian lynxes from the risk of being run over”, although “the collaboration of motorists” is always necessary.
