https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Now Drones Will Track Elephants in Tamil Nadu to Avert Conflict with Humans

Tamil Nadu Forest Department is using drones to monitor elephant movement. This will help in effective patrolling of the animal habitats. The department hopes to mitigate man-animal conflict through this step.
Indian Masterminds Stories

The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has started using drones to monitor the movement of elephants in all the wildlife sanctuaries of the state. This is being done to avoid human-animal conflict in places like Coimbatore and other districts that are close to the sanctuaries. Coimbatore Forest Range in Tamil Nadu is one of the biggest forest ranges in the country. Owing to its vast population of wild animals, especially elephants, the forest department continuously tries to come up with innovative ideas to tackle man-animal conflicts in the area.

In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Ms. Supriya Sahu, Principal Secretary, Environment Climate Change & Forests, Govt of Tamil Nadu, outlined the latest initiatives of the department.

Elephants enjoying in a stream of water

DRONES TO THE RESCUE

The elephants living in sanctuaries often lose their way and stray into nearby villages. There have been incidents when they have attacked humans, out of anxiety and fear, especially when villagers had tried to chase them away. Of late, such attacks have increased. Taking note of this, the Tamil Nadu Forest department purchased drones to keep track of the elephants’ movements so that they can push the herd back into the forest when needed.

“The Coimbatore forest division tested aerial elephant-monitoring drones in an effort to reduce man-animal conflicts, by ushering the elephants out of populated areas and back into forests, before incidents occur,” Ms. Sahu told Indian Masterminds.

She further informed that seven forest guards from the Coimbatore forest division (one from each range) have been trained to operate the drones.

Drones induce effective patrolling

EASING FOREST OFFICIALS’ LOAD

Using drones for tracking elephants has proved to be a big help to the forest officials as well as the people living in that area. Moreover, it helps to locate an injured elephant and provide timely help to the animal in distress. “Visuals from drones are helpful to check whether an individual elephant or a herd was active in the forest. Weak or immobile elephants can also be identified through the visuals,” Ms. Sahu said.

The aerial surveillance also frees the officials from the difficulties encountered in patrolling in sugarcane fields. “When elephants raid the sugarcane fields, it becomes difficult to track them as sugarcane is as high as the height of elephants. Also, the leaves of sugarcane are razor-sharp and forest staffers suffer cuts when they chase elephants. So, drones are used to track the movement of the elephant herd to reroute them towards the forest area,” Ms. Sahu informed.

A group of elephants between the vast trees of the forest

DRONES CAN AVERT TRAIN HITS

The Forest Department has five drones, and these are used in Mudumalai, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve as well as in Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.

“Drones are used to locate the elephants and send the kumkis (trained elephants) to push them deeper into the forests. Since the elephants usually come out during the night, monitoring becomes difficult. Hence, the local forest officials were trained to use the drones during the day to locate the pachyderms, so that the ‘kumkis’ can be sent to push them back deeper into the forests,” the officer revealed.

Kumkis (trained elephants)

The drones will further help to prevent elephants from coming near the railway tracks and getting hit by speeding trains. There have been cases when elephants were run over by trains, while they were crossing railway tracks along the Palakkad Pass. Now, with drones, the forest department hopes to mitigate such tragic accidents.

Tamil Nadu is the second state after Uttarakhand to receive drones from the Union Environment and Forest Ministry for monitoring of wild animals.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
IAS Ashwani Kumar
Assam’s Bold Bet on Local Talent: IAS Ashwani Kumar’s Vision for a Digital Assam
Haryana Jungle Safari
Haryana’s Mega Jungle Safari Project Moves Closer to Reality; Phase-I Design Finalised
SBK Singh IPS CP
Delhi Police Commissioner S B K Singh Bans Aerial Platforms from August 2 to 16 for Security Reasons
IPS-logo-resized_new
10 Senior Cops Get New Roles In Bihar Police; DG Jitendra Kumar Gets Additional Charge of B-SAP
Indian Forest Services IFS officer
Jharkhand IFS Rajneesh Kumar Transferred Amid Ongoing Legal Proceedings - Details Inside
Uttar Pradesh UP Government
17 Review Officers Transferred in Uttar Pradesh Secretariat Administration Reshuffle - Details Inside
IFS-forest-resized
6 IFS Officers Transferred in Odisha to Strengthen Environmental Administration, Jagayandatt Pati Made RCCF, Koraput Circle
IAS Officers Indian Administrative Services IAS logo
4 Young IAS Officers Reshuffled in Uttarakhand, Rahul Anand Made Joint Magistrate, Dehradun
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Karn Satyarthi
How IAS Karn Satyarthi Transformed Gumla Through Empathy and Innovation
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
IRAS Ananth Rupanagudi’s Take on Corruption, Reform, and Duty
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-26 at 13.16
What Most Indians Don't Know About Jim Corbett
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
BPSC Bihar police
From Lantern Light to Police Uniform: How Praveen Kumar from a Small Bihar Village Cracked BPSC to Become SDPO
From a lantern-lit village in Bihar to becoming an SDPO, Praveen Kumar's journey is a testament to resilience,...
IAS Priyansha Garg
Why Mindset Matters: IAS Priyansha Garg’s Mental Health Mantra for UPSC
After two failed prelims, Priyansha Garg cracked UPSC with AIR 31 in her fourth attempt, proving how...
Ashish Akshat
From Setback to State Topper: How Ashish Akshat Topped JPSC While Working Full-Time
Ashish Akshat from Dhanbad topped JPSC 2023, proving that resilience, discipline, and family support...
Social Media
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve: From India’s First Sanctuary to a Tiger Conservation Success Story | International Tiger Day Special
IAS Supriya Sahu Hails Mudumalai's Role in Tiger Conservation on Tiger Day. Declared in 1940, Now Among...
Mangroves
Mangroves: Nature’s Shield Against Disasters, Says Officer Parveen Kaswan on Mangroves Day - Watch His Post Here
Mangroves, with their dense, interlaced root systems, form a mesh-like structure that serves as a buffer...
Retired IPS Inderjit Singh Sidhu
Purpose Doesn’t Retire: How 88-Year-Old Retired DIG Becomes Chandigarh’s ‘Quiet Warrior’ of Cleanliness
Inderjit Singh Sidhu’s Dawn Patrol Earns Applause, Mahindra’s Praise for a Man Who Chose Action Over...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
IAS Ashwani Kumar
Assam’s Bold Bet on Local Talent: IAS Ashwani Kumar’s Vision for a Digital Assam
Haryana Jungle Safari
Haryana’s Mega Jungle Safari Project Moves Closer to Reality; Phase-I Design Finalised
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Karn Satyarthi
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-26 at 13.16
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT