BARIPADA: Artificial Intelligence (AI) cameras and lights will soon be installed in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) to reduce man-animal conflicts especially in Betnoti and Rasgovindpur ranges from where most such cases are reported.
Regional chief conservator of forest (RCCF) and field director of STR, Prakash Chand Gogineni told The New Indian Express that most cases of man-animal conflicts have been reported from Betnoti and Rasgovindpur ranges within the Baripada territorial division. As the two ranges are on the Odisha-West Bengal and Jharkhand border, elephants from both the neighbouring states often sneak into the district.
He said elephants from Similipal often sneak into human settlements in search of food but later return to their habitat. But the same is not the case with elephants from Jharkhand and West Bengal who create havoc in the ranges and seldom return to their habitat.
To check the menace, it has been decided to install the AI cameras and lights at vulnerable places and elephants’ entry points to provide advance early warning to forest personnel. The systems will enable personnel and villagers to get advance information on entry of elephants into human settlements. It will help the Forest department and locals to take precautionary measures.
As per reports, an AI camera can provide advanced early information within a radius of five km. A survey will be conducted on the movement of elephants and based on its report, the locations where the system is required to be installed will be determined. Gogineni said the cameras and lights will be procured from a corpus fund of the department.
