Coimbatore Forest Division adopts technologies to tackle human-elephant conflict

Coimbatore Forest Division adopts technology to reduce human-elephant conflict, including AI-based early warning system and thermal imaging towers.

Being one of the hotbeds of negative interactions between humans and elephants, the Coimbatore Forest Division is in the efforts to adopt more technologies to mitigate the conflict situation.

In addition to the artificial intelligence-based (AI) early warning system to tackle elephant deaths due to train collisions in the Madukkarai forest range introduced in 2024, the Department has established towers equipped with thermal imaging-cum-optical cameras at three places to monitor movements of elephants towards human habitations.

The three towers located at Maruthamalai foothills, Ponnoothu Amman temple foothills in Thadagam valley and one location at Madukkarai range. Human-elephant conflict reduced at these places after introduction of the technology, according to the Forest Department.

“These towers are mounted with thermal imaging cameras and normal optical cameras that can be zoomed to cover about 1 km. The cameras, which can be controlled from the command centre, use motion detection technology to capture movement of animals. The thermal imaging cameras are used to detect animal movement at night. Alerts are given to the staff based on movements detected by the cameras. We are also checking the prospects of upgrading these cameras with AI,” said M. Naveen, Scientist at the Asian Elephant Conservation Research and Conflict Management Centre in Coimbatore.

A total of 185 persons died in the attacks of wild elephants in the division from 2011 to 2024, while 207 elephants died of various reasons, including human interventions in the period. Between 2021 and 2014, the frontline staff of the Department confronted 14,962 incidents of wild elephants entering human habitations.

District Forest Officer N. Jayaraj said the Department had been using one drone fitted with an optical camera for tracking movements of wild elephants that enter human habitations.

“We are in the process of procuring another drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera, which can be used at night, under funds from the Special Area Development Programme. The Tamil Nadu Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Corporation is testing feasibility of using tethered and normal drones to improve the efficiency of the AI-based early warning system in Madukkarai forest range. They can be used to detect movements of elephants in blind spots,” he said.