Chinese GPS tracking device found on a seagull near Karwar coast in Karnataka

Security agencies and forest officials have initiated an inquiry after a Chinese-made GPS tracking device was found attached to a seagull near the coastal belt of Karwar in Uttara Kannada district, close to a sensitive naval zone.

Officials, however, said that preliminary findings point to scientific research rather than espionage.

Confirming the discovery, Police of Karwar Town said the incident came to light when local residents on Wednesday



noticed an unusually tagged seagull resting behind the Thimmakka Garden area near the beach. Finding the device suspicious, they alerted the Marine Wing of the Forest Department.

Forest officials who reached the spot safely captured the bird and examined the device.

The GPS tracker bore markings linked to the Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, indicating its use for academic and ecological studies.