Early warning system installed in Jaldapara to warn of elephant movement
Darjeeling: With human animal conflict steadily on the rise in North Bengal, Automated Elephant Early Warning Devices (AEEWD) are being installed in the vulnerable areas on the fringes of forests. Jaldapara National Park has installed 26 such devices.
"We have installed 22 such devices in the Nilpara range. In the next few days the remaining four will be installed. Along with inspection and documentation of the devices on Tuesday, sensitization of the residents on various aspects of human-animal conflict was also conducted" stated Koustav Choudhury, President of Society for Nature and Animal Protection (SNAP). The devices are a combination of multiple censors and a hooter. The hooter issues a warning with the approach of pachyderms.
The systems have been tested and are being successfully in Gorumara National Park and Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary since 2019. There are 30 devices in Gorumara and 21 in Mahananda. "Forest Minister Rajib Banerjee is scheduled to inaugurate the warning system at the Jaldapara National Park on June 27 or 28th tentatively," added Choudhury, who is also the Wildlife Consultant for International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). SNAP will be installing at Dalgaon, Birpara in Alipurduar. They have already conducted inspections in Jhargram and will be installing the devices from October.
"We are stressing on solutions to minimize human-animal conflict. We have a very unique topography including forests, tea gardens and villages. Movement of elephants is frequent. When elephants come near human settlements, conflicts occur. We have been identifying areas where elephant movement is high. The devices are being installed in these areas. Forest teams are also being deployed in these areas so that they can respond at the earliest when the devices give out warning signals of animal movement. The animals can then be driven back to the forest," stated Kumar Vimal, DFO, Jaldapara National Park.
Meanwhile a 22 year old female elephant was electrocuted in East Madarihat area. Early on Wednesday morning a herd of elephants had entered the village. "It was raining heavily. A tree fell on the electric line and snapped a live electric wire which fell on the elephant. The elephant died. The herd has returned to the forest" added the DFO.
In another incident one Fajnu Mohammad of Mantadari village of Rajgunj block adjacent to the Baikanthapur forest was arrested by the Special Task Forest of the forest department. A pangolin was recovered from his house. The pangolin was later released in the forest of Bengal Safari.
