A research group at Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, has designed a device “anti crop raiding acoustic gun” that helps in driving away wild elephants along forest areas at Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve.
Developed by ‘Technology for Wildlife’, comprising faculties, Sanjoy Deb, R. Ramkumar, R. Saravana Kumar and Project Assistant M. Gunasekaran, the device that creates 350 decibels was operated successfully at Iggalur village in Talavadi recently. The fully automated system creates safe ear splitting sound which drives away elephants. “The pocket-friendly system is capable of driving away elephants and other crop-raiding wild animals”, said the members. The system can be operated by placing it on the ground with a remote and also by holding it with hands. “On seeing the animals, the farmer has to switch on the system that generates sound”, they added.
Since human-elephant conflict has increased over the years, efforts are being taken to prevent loss of lives and also to reduce the conflicts. “The conflict management issue needs to be addressed from conservation, societal as well as from a technological point of view. Technology plays a role in generation of early elephant intrusion warning and driving away intruding elephants”, they added.
The high intelligence level and adaptive learning capability of elephants makes it highly difficult to configure a long lasting drive away technology and hence human intervention-based traditional drive away techniques such as beating drums, making a loud human noise, bursting firecrackers are widely accepted and applied till date.
Since ear splitting sound is the common tool to drive away elephants, technology is used here to create sound. “Creating a loud sound by humans to drive away elephants, particularly during night hours, is very difficult as well as risky”, they said and added that the new system is effective as farmers in the village had successfully chased away wild elephants.