Nagaon – Assam: The electric door-bell used in homes to alert people to visitors can be an effective tool to check elephants, an expert testing this method in the northeast Indian state of Assam said.

The technique involves a fence made of a nylon string, which is connected to an electric door bell on a machan (a watch tower). The fence is six-feet above the ground. Every time an elephant touch the fence while trying to cross, the bell rings. This gives the watcher ample time to drive them away.

The method also helps people count the number of elephants (by counting the number of rings) entering into their territory, Shimanta Goswami, of Green Guard Nature Club also a member of the Emergency Relief Network of the Wildlife Trust of India, said.

Nearly, 6 – 7 kilometers of fence is being laid in the Balijuri village of Nagaon district. Gorshuk, Sapanala, Nalbari Boro gaon, Kaziranga and Shamosti villages of the district will be fenced in the next phase. These villages have faced the brunt of elephant depredation.

Around 8 to 12 solitary male elephants are suspected to roam close to these villages.

“Usually, between 7 pm and midnight they come to the villages for food, and return to the jungle at dawn”, Goswami said.

The test-run of this method in Balijuri has produced good results. Elephants, which had raided crops and damaged homes almost daily, have been stopped.

The fence has been a source of relief for the villagers. Equipped with the alarm, they can chase away the elephants before they can enter their village, Goswami said.

Earlier, people had to leave to safer places at dusk for fear of elephants but now the situation has improved.

This method has been widely used in the Zambezi valley in Zimbabwe – a country, home to nearly 100,000 African elephants, where the problem of human-elephant conflicts known to have taken enormous proportions in recent times.

The Emergency Relief Network is supported by WTI and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to help individuals and organizations in different parts of the country for wildlife rescue and relief operations.

Pix credit: Shimanta Goswami