Assam scientist develops unique device to mitigate man-elephant conflict

A computer engineer turned conservation scientist from Assam, Seema Lokhandwala, will be featured in CNNs ‘Call to Earth: Listening to Our Planet’ programme this weekend for her efforts in mitigating man-elephant conflict. The programme ‘Call to Earth: Listening to Our Planet’ will be highlighting the work of scientists from around the world who are using sound to protect the planet.

Seema, who happens to be the founder of Elephant Acoustics Project, has been working towards the conservation of the gentle giants with a team of like-minded engineers. Their aim is promote human-elephant coexistence and mitigate the conflict through elephant acoustic based early warning systems, thereby garnering local support for long-term elephant conservation. As per reports, Seema’s team of engineers are currently developing the ‘elephant call detector’, a device designed to detect elephant sound, alert local officials to its presence and then emit a sound to send the animal in a different direction.

The group of scientists have been studying elephant sounds along the Kaziranga – Karbi Anglong landscape for better understanding of Asian elephant communication. As Assam has witnessed regular man-elephant conflict, the elephants have become victims of poaching, electrocution and poisoning. The elephants often stray into human habitats in search of food, and during this course, they damage several houses and croplands. This results in face-off with humans which, at times, become fatal.