Tamil Nadu: Residents of Hosur get warnings after elephant attacks
In order to alert people about wild elephant movements, the Hosur Forest Division will shortly implement a warning system. According to Hosur wildlife warden K Karthikeyani, this is a part of the district’s efforts to reduce human-animal conflict. Other steps include installing digital information boards and red warning lights in high-risk locations.
Since December 2023, farmers have been receiving SMSs alerting them of elephant movements. The Hosur Forest Division consists of seven forest ranges, each of which has roughly 40 hamlet groupings established inside it. There are between 10 and 15 farmers in each group, totaling more than 400 farms. Every night, each ranger would notify farmers via SMS of jumbo movements.
In addition, a WhatsApp group named “Thadam” has been established in each of the seven ranges to communicate alerts. Twenty locations inside the forest ranges will have red warning lights placed by the end of next month. Valparai in Coimbatore is effectively using this technique. To provide information regarding jumbo movements, digital information boards will be installed in the Hosur and Krishnagiri forest areas, according to Karthikeyani.
