Odisha plans to tag radio collar on jumbos to reduce man-elephant conflict

With incidences of man-elephant conflict on the rise, the Odisha government plans to adopt a multi-pronged strategy including tagging radio collars on elephants.

This was revealed by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) SK Popli here. He said the radio collars will be fitted in elephants under the state’s 'Gajabandhu' programme.

Noting that the state's forest department has signed an agreement with the Asian Nature Conservation Foundation of Bengaluru-based Institute of Physics for radio collar scheme, he said three elephants will be tagged with radio collar on a pilot basis.

He said the radio collar scheme is already implemented in some states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The movement of elephants can be detected from the signals of the radio collar fitted in the jumbos.

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"It will help the forest officials to take immediate steps to prevent the elephant herd from straying into human habitation. If the pilot project is successful, it will be extended to the entire state," Popli said.

He said an early warning system will also be in place to caution people about the movement of elephants in their areas. There will be red light and siren to inform people about the presence of elephants in the human habitation area, he said.

Under the Gajabandhu programme, five people from each village will be appointed as volunteers who will inform the forest department about the elephant movements. So far 1,200 villages have been brought under the Gajabandhu programme and another 2,000 villages will be added to the list soon, he said.

The state government has also decided to set up solar power fences in Bantal of Angul district which has been identified as most prone to man-elephant conflict. Already 43 villages have been identified for the purpose, Popli said.