Farm Guard devices to check elephant incursions at Aralam
Farm Guard devices are being deployed to combat elephant incursions at the Aralam Farm Rehabilitation Centre.
Farm Guard devices are being deployed to combat elephant incursions at the Aralam Farm Rehabilitation Centre.
Farm Guard devices are being deployed to combat elephant incursions at the Aralam Farm Rehabilitation Centre.
Iritty: As wild elephant intrusions continue to unsettle life around Aralam, authorities have turned to technology, installing compact electronic deterrents known as Farm Guards along the forest boundary to keep the animals at bay.
The devices are designed to emit loud warning sounds and intense flashes of light that hit the animals directly in the eyes the moment they approach and force them to retreat into the forest. The Farm Guard units have been installed at the Aralam Farm Rehabilitation Centre, an area that has long faced frequent elephant incursions. The devices, brought to Aralam through the efforts of the Aralam Task Force, have been installed with the support of the Rapid Response Team. Officials said similar systems had been tested successfully in other locations, encouraging their deployment here as well.
Earlier methods of driving elephants away from human settlements had proved ineffective, as the animals often returned through alternate routes and re-entered the same areas. To address this, Farm Guard devices have now been installed at nine locations, from the old RRT office at Kottappara to other vulnerable stretches of the Aralam rehabilitation centre.
Each device weighs just 2.5 kilograms and is equipped with three speakers and powerful lighting units on all four sides. The system can emit different unpleasant sounds tailored to deter various animals, not just elephants.
Once an elephant comes within 15 metres of the device, sensors detect the animal’s presence and activate an alarm system that releases harsh, irritating sounds along with eye-piercing beams of light from all four sides. The combined effect of light and sound is intended to prevent elephants from moving towards residential areas.
The Farm Guard device was designed by Malappuram native V V Jishoy, his wife Varsha from Palakkad, and their friend S Abhijith. The system had earlier been installed on a trial basis at Aralam, while the latest batch of devices was brought in from Wayanad.