Stories
Srinagar Engineer Builds Free Wildlife Alert App After Mother's Tragic Bear Attack Death
- •Mudasir Ali developed WildPing.org, a free platform that notifies residents when bears, leopards, and other wild animals are spotted nearby.
- •Ali was inspired to create the app after losing his mother in a bear attack near their Srinagar home in 2020.
- •Users can set up watch zones to receive real-time alerts within a 2.5-kilometer radius and view a live map of recent sightings.
- •The Progressive Web App works on Android and iOS without an app store download and supports English, Hindi, and Urdu.
- •Built-in safeguards require user verification, restrict spam, and allow the community to flag false reports to maintain reliability.
Key Questions Answered
WildPing.org is a free wildlife alert platform developed by Srinagar software engineer Mudasir Ali to notify people when bears, leopards, and other wild animals are spotted near their homes, farms, or workplaces. Users can set up watch zones to receive notifications within a 2.5-kilometer radius and view a live map of recent sightings, helping communities stay safe and avoid dangerous areas.
Ali created the platform following a personal tragedy after his mother died in a bear attack near their home in 2020. Seeing ongoing reports of wild animals entering residential areas across Kashmir strengthened his resolve to build a tool that helps other families receive timely warnings and avoid similar tragedies.
To prevent misuse and maintain reliability, WildPing requires users to complete a registration verification step and rejects disposable email addresses linked to spam. It restricts repeated reports within short periods, allows community members to flag suspicious posts, and automatically removes reports identified as misleading by enough users.
