500 endangered reptiles to be monitored from satellite

Within the scope of a two-year project, the Environment and Urbanization Ministry will implant chips in some 500 endangered reptiles to monitor them from second to second through the satellite.

According to data obtained from the ministry's General Directorate for the Preservation of Natural Heritage, the endangered animals are chameleons, turtles, Mertensiella luschanis, Ophimorus punctatissimus and Vipera kaznakovis.

"The animals are living in five private regions in [the southern province of] Antalya, [the southwestern province of] Muğla and [the Black Sea province of] Trabzon," the state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Sept. 15.

The authorities told the news agency that the chips would be implanted in reptiles at the early hours of the day when the body temperatures are at the lowest levels.

Thanks to a radar range finder system, the officials will be able to monitor the 500 reptiles from the satellite instantly.

According to the ministry, the monitoring process will be the most detailed work on reptiles ever done in the country.

The project, coordinated by Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum, will be a guide to the authorities about the factors changing reptile population, animals' habitat choices and data about the effects of global warming on the endangered animals.

"At the end of the project, authorities will be able to detect the right ecological tunnels for endangered animals," the news agency highlighted.

The project is a step to understand the human-animal relationship in the world, according to the agency's report. "At the end of the project, the alternatives to secure the endangered species will be learned," it said.

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