A Chinese-made GPS tracking device was reportedly found attached to a seagull near the Karwar coastal belt in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district – near a sensitive maritime zone.
The Karwar town police confirmed that the incident came to light when locals spotted an unusually marked seagull resting behind the Thimmakka Garden area near the beach on Wednesday.
Since the device was suspicious, they alerted Naval Wing of the Forest Department. Forest officials who reached the spot captured the bird safely and examined the facility.
Is China spying?
Officials told news agency PTI that preliminary findings indicated scientific research rather than espionage.
According to the report, the GPS tracker carried markings associated with the Research Center for Ecological Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
This suggested its use for academic and environmental studies.
“The tracker appears to have been fitted to study the movements, feeding and migration routes of the seagulls. There is no evidence at this stage to suggest any espionage activity,” police said.
They added that authorities are nevertheless cautious given the strategic importance of the coastal region.
What happened to the bird?
The bird was taken to the Marine Forest Division office for observation. Officials are attempting to formally contact the research institution involved to learn details of the study, including the origin, timeline and extent of the monitoring program.
This is not the first such incident in the region. In November last year, a war eagle equipped with a tracking device was spotted at Baithkol port in Karwar. The case was also found to be related to wildlife research.
However, due to its proximity to the INS Kadamba naval base, one of the Indian Navy’s most strategic installations, the discovery has again raised concerns about the possibility of exposing sensitive data under the guise of research.
“While tracking wildlife using GPS devices is a globally recognized scientific practice, the location where the bird was found requires multiple agencies to verify all aspects,” police said.
Officials emphasized that further action will depend on the responses received from the research body and a technical analysis of the data transmission capabilities of the device.
