‘Jumbo Hooters’ to be keep elephants away from villages in Jharkhand

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<strong>With increasing incidence of human-animal conflict like elephants destroying property, crops and life in Jharkhand, authorities have decided to introduce innovative steps to check these incidents.</strong></p>
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The Saranda Forest Division authorities in Jharkhand have decided to use "Jumbo Hooters" that will scare the intruding elephants by using a combination light and sound, according to an official this week.</p>
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The Animal Intrusion Detection and Repellent System (ANIDERS) or what is commonly called as the "Jumbo Hooter" is a machine which is solar-powered. It has sensors which have the capability of differentiating animals and humans and the moment it tracks elephant within its range, it raises alarm, thereby altering the people close by to take precautions.</p>
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In the first phase of the pilot project, ANIDERS is being installed at 18 villages which are facing the elephant problem in the Saranda region, Chandramauli Prasad Sinha, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Saranda said.</p>
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Besides, altering the people close by, the gadget has built-in camera to record the activities of the elephants and transmit it to the forest officials, thereby keeping them informed and ready.</p>
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As per research done by the World Wide Fund for Nature in India, the success rate of the machines is stated to be 86 per cent, said the official.</p>
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Sinha also revealed that the plan to install these machines has been approved by the State Forest Department and that the cost of these will be borne by Tata Steel Long Products Limited.</p>
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Based on the success of the pilot project, it will be installed in other areas too, Sinha said.</p>
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The firm which is installing these machines disclosed that States like Kerala, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu are already using it.</p>