29

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

In this chapter the previous methods and approaches implemented

to resolve the HEC have been presented. To secure the survival of the Asian

elephant, it is critical to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the

raiding pattern. So far, several definite trends in HEC have been identified.

Elephant disturbance usually takes place in the forest border areas

between dusk and dawn and it is strongly seasonal, corresponding with crop

harvesting periods (Sukumar, 2003; Osborn & Hill, 2005). Moreover, conflict

is usually highest closer to protected areas that act as elephant refuges. HEC is

a complex problem, which cannot be mitigated through reliance on a single

mitigation technique. Each field site requires specific deterrence strategies.

Moreover, an extensive range of mitigation techniques has shown to be more

effective in driving away raiders. The practices employed by farmers to deter

elephants are also wide ranging. These generally include active traditional

deterrents such as shouting, drum beating, bursting firecrackers, torch

lighting, and setting fire to raw jute or tires fixed at the end of bamboo sticks.

Usually, farmers guard their crops on their own, however during peak raiding

season two to three neighboring farmers form groups to ride elephants back.

Additionally, forest department officials may aid in mitigating human-

elephant conflict by firing shots in the air as well as using domestic elephants

30

to drive away crop raiders. In areas of high conflict cultivating alternative

crops to those preferred by elephants is practiced (Di Fonzo 2007).

2.2 HUMAN ELEPHANT CONFLICT MITIGATION

There are several projects and initiatives on the mitigation of

elephant human conflict taking place around the globe. Traditional methods

are devised by local communities and these include noise (shouting, beating

drums, burning bamboo, bursting fire crackers), light (fire at entry points to

fields, powerful spotlights) and missiles (stones, spears) (Lenin 2011).

Elephants are not easily visible in night time, hence the elephant

approaching the farm is identified at a later instant based on its sound or

movement nearby. Guarding and patrolling in the night time do not work

well. The inability of farmers to stay awake for several nights gives elephants

the opportunity to sneak into croplands. People endanger their lives by getting

too close to elephants or directly confronting them. Villagers have even given

up actively guarding their fields for fear of their lives. Elephant herds panic

when chased and damage more crops. Some commonly used methods such as

flaming arrowheads and spears, and homemade guns injure the elephants.

This work re-evaluates and refines some established mitigation

methods and introduces intelligent innovations as solution to HEC. The

evolution of the arsenal of HEC mitigation methods suggests that currently

relevant developments fall into two categories: traditional and intelligent.

Effective HEC mitigation is difficult to understand and problematic to

implement; it remains a complex package of measures that have to be used in

combination and flexibly, at different scales.

HEC mitigation division is between short-term methods

(traditional, disturbance, translocation and chili) and long-term ones

31

(research, fencing, community conservation, land-use planning) (Hoare, R.

2012). People burst crackers and drove the elephants back in to the forest. Till

recently, the Coimbatore Forest Department had been using powerful

searchlights, crackers and drums to push the wild elephant herds back into the

jungle. The kumki (rescue) elephants were used more in hill areas to chase the

wild elephant herds into the forests.

Solutions to prevent HEC are divided into two types Traditional

solutions and intelligent solutions. The traditional solutions are categorized

based on biological considerations include bio fencing with vegetative barrier

and physical considerations include trenches, fencing, manmade structures

etc.

2.3 TRADITIONAL SOLUTIONS

2.3.1 Biological Considerations

As an alternative to electric fencing, low cost, sustainable bio-

fencing technology is used to protect elephants and humans. It is cultivation

of rows of Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer) palms in zigzag manner at the

territorial boundaries of elephants or around wild elephant affected farmlands.

Palmyra bio-fencing produces a sustainable solution for the human elephant

conflict by minimizing elephant and human deaths. In the long-run, it

produces additional tangible benefits that satisfy the needs of both human and

elephants. Palmyra bio fencing produces elephant feed also. The cost of

fencing is reduced by 8 times (cost per km. of electric fencing is Rs. 600,000

and cost per km. Palmyra fencing is only Rs. 72,000) with less maintenance

compared to electric fencing.

Vegetative Barrier: - In this type of barrier, thorny plants or other

plants which acts as repellent to elephants such as lemon trees, red chilli and

citronella grass can be sown around the bou9ndary of the protected area.

32

Elephants, to some extent, avoid the place where this type of vegetation is

grown (Yaw & Lonneke 2008).

Trials with chilli based products have been conducted all around

the world (Alexandra Zimmermann, 2009 & Heges 2010). A comparative

study of the efficacy of chilli and tobacco-laced fence in various rainfall

regimes was conducted in forest villages of Hosur Forest Division (Tamil

Nadu), Wyanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) and Buxa Tiger Reserve (West

Bengal) in 2006. The results indicate that the fence is more effective in low

rainfall areas and in deterring elephant herds more than bulls. Applying

capsicum oleoresin in different forms like sprays and treated ropes which are

strung are used to prevent extensive damage to crops. Research has shown the

effectiveness of chili extracts as a spray to deter elephants during crop

raiding. When traditional measures are utilized, there is normally an

aggressive reaction from elephants, whereas in the case of aerial spraying of

capsicum oleoresin, the response by the elephants was more rapid and

resulted in prompt withdrawal from the crops without aggression (Osborn

2002). Capsicum oleoresin has thus far functioned as a viable short term

elephant repellent.

Acoustic deterrents are those that shock wildlife away by emitting

an unexpected loud noise or specific sounds known to scare wildlife.

Traditional acoustic methods are widely used by farmers throughout world,

mainly against elephants: such as beating drums, tins and trees; using whips

in addition to shouting, yelling and whistling; and setting off explosive

bombs, and homemade gunpowder (Yaw & Lonneke 2008). Disturbance

shooting gunshot over the heads of crop-raiding elephants has been a long-

standing deterrent, but it needs the intervention of animal control units or

33

administration representatives. To scare baboons, the use of shots cannon

noise or predator sounds can be used. Disturbance shooting at roost sites is a

method easy to implement once all roost sites are known. However, baboons

may return to their roost sites once the disturbance ends.

Alarm systems established at the boundary of farms and set off by a

tripwire or set up directly on fences alert farmers about the presence of

elephants. Some more sophisticated techniques using tape recordings are

currently being tested in Kenya, where play-back of animal noise are used to

scare elephants. Researchers in Namibia have recorded elephant warning calls

and played these back to elephants in order to scare them away (Yaw &

Lonneke 2008).

Visual deterrents are a traditional method. The flames and smoke of

fires lit on the boundaries of fields or burning sticks carried by farmers can

deter wildlife. Burning tiers produce a lasting and noxious smoke which

affects both visual and olfactory senses, and increases the deterrent effect.

Tobacco is also efficient as a deterrent either in conjunction with chilli or

alone. Use of vehicle oil, ground chili and tobacco, smeared on ropes

surrounding fields prevents elephants from raiding crops.

Research work in Kenya on the use of African honey bees (Apis

mellifera) as a deterrent to crop-raiding elephants has been tested (King et. al

2009). The scheme uses beehives incorporated into a simple fence in such a

way that elephants contacting the barrier disturb the insects in their hives. The

fence design was proposed because playback experiments using the sound of

bees had previously caused elephant groups to either apparently retreat from

the source of sound or make alarm calls.

34

Figure 2.1 Beehives Fencing

King et al (2009) presented the concept of using beehives to

mitigate elephant crop depredation. Beehut design the key element of the

and the connecting wire linking one beehive to the next with a gap of 7 m

hanging wire on the farm side of the beehut enables a strong piece of plain

wire to attach one beehive to the next beehive 10 m away as shown in Figure

2.1. Should an elephant attempt to enter the farm, he will instinctively try to

pass between the beehuts, and as the wire stretches, the pressure on the

beehives will cause them to swing erratically and, if occupied, release the

bees. The bees in turns disturbs the elephants and make it to move apart from

the area. Beehives along fences have reportedly been tried, but are of doubtful

efficacy as elephants usually raid at night when bees are inactive (Fernando et

al. 2008). Bees may also bite elephants and injure them making the elephants

react vibrantly.

2.3.2 Physical Considerations

Construction of elephant proof trenches is being done all over the

world. Trenches should be wide and deep enough to prevent elephants from

35

crossing over it elephant proof trenches (EPT) are plagued by some of the

same shortcomings as electric fences. Elephants are known to kick the

unearthed spoil into the EPTs until they can cross it. Even trenches made to

specifications have been crossed by elephants. Commonly used dimensions

of trenches are 3m wide at the top, 1m wide at the bottom, and 2m deep as

shown in Figure 2.2. However, the dimensions vary from place to place

regions (Fernando et al. 2008). The main problem with trenches is erosion

and caving-in of the side walls which fills up the trench, enabling elephants to

cross it. The likelihood of erosion and caving-in depends on soil conditions

and rainfall. The sides of trenches can be stabilized with concrete, stones and

tar/asphalt, but this increases the cost significantly. They select a point; create

steps by kicking in the earth. EPTs are expensive to excavate, require regular

maintenance and are ineffective near streams. About half the crossing points

in EPT had been created by people. Elephant calves are known to fall into

trenches. They are unsuitable for sloping terrain, wet areas, or where soil is

prone to erosion.

Figure 2.2 Elephant Proof Trench

Trenches could be built around the boundaries of the protected

area after putting the vegetative barrier. This would further prevent the

36

elephants crossing the boundary. (Trench specification-Top width = 2.10 mt;

Bottom width = 1.20 mt; Depth = 2.40 mt.). The dugout earth is to be used as

mound towards the inner-side of the protected area.

During our investigation, all the forest ranges of the Coimbatore

Forest Division were covered to address the human-elephant conflict. The

Coimbatore Forest Division falls under the Elephant Reserve No. 8, in which

Nilambur-Silent Valley of Kerala forms the major portion of the tract and the

division is included in the Project Elephant Perspective Plan of the Tamil

Nadu State Forest Department. Elaborating on the measures taken so far more

than 210 km of elephant-proof trenches have been dug in Coimbatore

division. This had helped in preventing elephants from venturing out of

Department had prepared.

Extensive experimentation with elephant fencing showed that

elephant fencing could be broadly classified into five types, (Hoare, R. 2012).

Model 1. Extended full barrier fence (long, often separating land uses like

national parks from agriculture)

Model 2. Partial interface fence (open-ended but incorporating natural

barriers, e.g. escarpment, lake)

Model 3. Community protection fence (encircling a whole village with crops

and facilities)

Model 4. Household ownership fence (encircling dwelling and crops of one

household)

Model 5. Crop protection fence (encircling only small crop-growing areas)

37

In all five fence models, monitoring has shown that the deficiencies

of detailed and regular maintenance inevitably manifest themselves and make

it impossible for ordinary or electric fencing to withstand the challenge.

Farmers can protect their small lands from problematic elephants with simple

single- or double strand electric fencing if they can get small amounts of

initial capital finance or aid, and if they maintain their own encircling fences.

A combination of simple electric fence and chilli deterrent methods, using

low specification temporary string fences, would constitute a back-up system

almost guaranteeing freedom from elephant crop raids (Hoare 2012).

Electrified fences are commonly employed by individuals and

private companies to protect farm lands from elephants and by governments

and conservation agencies to restrict elephants to particular areas. If

maintained properly it can be the most successful barrier against elephant

depredation. Electric fences carry a high voltage at low amperage as a pulsed

current. They do not cause physical harm to elephants but gives a powerful

and unpleasant electric shock upon contact. Since an electric shock is

presumably very different to any stimulus an animal would encounter

naturally, so they tend to be very wary of it and not to adapt to it easily.

However, some elephants eventually adapt with prolonged exposure.

Elephants have been known to breach electric fences by using tusks

which do not conduct electricity, pushing or kicking down fence posts and

stepping over the fence using the thick soles of their feet to depress the wires.

Some elephants also learn that an electric shock does not harm them and

simply barge through the wires. Once an elephant learns to breach an electric

fence, the fence becomes useless against the particular individual. Therefore,

the most important aspect of a psychological barrier such as an electric fence

is to discourage elephants from initially challenging it. This can be enhanced

by making it more visible and obvious, keeping it fully functional, and

38

through judicious, strategic placement. Fences erected along the ecological

boundary between elephant habitat and human areas (edge of permanent

human settlements and cultivations), tend to be more effective because

maintenance is easier due to better access and less likelihood of challenges by

elephants. Fences within forest areas tend to be less effective and not lasting

due to logistical difficulties in maintenance. In addition, due to the reduced

human presence in forests, elephants are more likely to spend longer time

testing and challenging the fences (Hoare 2012).

Fernando et al (2008) discussed electric solar fencing to avoid

elephant-human conflict. Electric fences are seen by local people as a

permanent solution and there is a temptation to install fences wherever there

is conflict as shown in Figure 2.3. They are expensive to install, require

constant and high maintenance. There is a high rate of failure of electric

fences. These fences are even broken by elephants using tree woods. Fences

that illegally tap into mains AC power supply have killed crop raiding

elephants and also humans. Electric fences are considered effective in

reducing crop raiding (Kioko 2008), literature on the use of electric fencing

to manage crop-raiding by elephants suggest that a number of factors

including fence design, voltage, maintenance, elephant pressure and behaviour

may influence their success . Considering the high installation and maintenance

cost of electric fencing, there is a need for more research to establish the

factors that determine the effectiveness of electric fences in deterring

elephant crop-raiding.

Nearly 1,700 km of solar fences erected in Tamil Nadu, including

100 km in the Coimbatore division, were required constant maintenance and

the results had been mixed. 81 people killed by elephants in Coimbatore

Forest Division from 2000 to 2011. In 2012, wild elephants had ventured into

human habitations more than 3,000 times in this division.

39

Figure 2.3 Electric Fencing

Singh & Chalisgaonkar (2006) have discussed how railway lines,

highways, irrigation and hydroelectric canals, industrial establishments and

human settlements along the migration corridors have affected the migratory

movement of the elephants. The report suggests the alternatives and

modifications in the manmade (Civil Engineering) structures to facilitate the

movement of Elephants, save this endangered species from extinction and

avoid the animal-human conflict in the Rajaji Corbett Elephant Range. The

Coimbatore Forest Department has established 32 waterholes in the forest

areas. As many as 250 field staff and 120 anti-poaching watchers work

almost round the year to drive elephants back into forests.

In (Loarie et al 2009) discussed about the role of the artificial

water sources and food which allow elephants to reside in forest during dry

seasons. Planting food trees in elephant habitat and corridors to augment

resources available to elephants has been a good method. Regeneration of

bamboo along stream courses and cultivates

sugarcanes could be practiced. It is not practical to grow such crops and trees

40

over large areas and its long term effectiveness is limited. Elephants are

known to eat up to 400 different species of plants and require up to 200 kg of

forage a day per animal. Therefore, to restock an area with even a fraction of

these species would be a challenging task. Elephant distribution is influenced

by the presence of surface water and rivers, and it has been suggested that

manipulating water sources could influence elephant presence. Water

provisioning may render previously unused habitat attractive, resulting in

redistribution of elephants. It may also lead to an increase in population and

density of elephants in that area which may affect the quality of the forest

vegetation and dramatically impact the biodiversity of the surrounding area.

2.4 INTELLIGENT SOLUTIONS

Wood et al (2005) Large mammal populations are difficult to

census and monitor in remote areas. A new detection technique that relies on

sensing the footfalls of large mammals is proposed. A single geophone was

used to record the footfalls of elephants and other large mammal species at a

waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia. They were able to discriminate

between species using the spectral content of their footfalls with an 82%

accuracy rate. This could be improved upon by using an array of geophones.

Graham et al (2012) have discussed the use of mobile phone

communication in effective human elephant conflict management in Laikipia

County, Kenya. Early warning of crop raiding has been identified as an

important element in successful deterrence of elephant crop raids. Therefore

the effectiveness and timeliness of communication among farmers and

between farmers and wildlife management authorities could be critical for

successful management of human elephant conflict. Effective communication

among rural resource users and between communities and outside agents is

important in the creation of social capital and in the creation of trust between

41

conservationists and resource users. However, such communications can be

fraught with misunderstanding, suspicion and delay.

Wijesinghe et al (2013) have presented the design and

implementation of an intrusion detection and alerting mechanism (eleAlert)

for fences separating wildlife habitats and human settlements. An eleAlert is

generated by a network of sensors to detect and locate damages instantly, and

alert communities under threat via mobile communications network. Electric

fences are harmful to elephants. There are cases of elephants being killed due

to the large current passing through the fences. In turn, human deaths also

occur due to such electric fences.

In Venkataraman et al 2005) discussed the potential use of satellite

technology for conflict mitigation. The elephant GPS radio collar transmits

the geo locations to the satellite to monitor the movement of the herds in the

forest regions. There have been attempts to track elephants using satellite

movements, it is possible to predict if the animals are headed towards a

village and provide the inhabitants with advance information. But to be

relevant and timely, data needs to be updated more than once every 24 hours

(Venkataraman et al 2005). The high cost of the equipment limits its use to no

more than a small number of animals (Fernando et al 2008). The elephants

tagged with radio collars react violently and damage it. A 20-year-old male

elephant that was shot with a tranquilized dart by Forest and WWF experts for

fixing the radio collar. The elephant's carcass was traced by officials at the

foot of the Anubavi Subramaniar Koil hills near Thadagam, 22 km west of

Coimbatore. The elephant collapsed in an uncomfortable position when

sedation had reached its peak and this may have caused respiratory problems

which led to its death. The elephant connected with radio collar is shown in

Figure 2.4.

42

Figure 2.4 Elephant Radio collar

Juang et al (2002) discussed about the design tradeoffs and early

experience in building sensor networks for position tracking of wild life.

These sensor networks described are to be laid above the ground level and

work well when line of sight exists. But often the sensor nodes are destroyed

by the elephants. Farmers and wood pickers may also disturb the sensor nodes

as they are unaware of the importance of these devices.

Venter & Hanekom 2010) proposed possibility of using the

elephant-elephant communication (elephant rumbles) to detect the presence of

a herd of elephants in close proximity, In this work the authors have recorded

the low frequency infrasound but they do not compare with other animal

infrasound pattern and confirm it is an elephant occurrence. Results obtained

suggest that the algorithm can reliably detect elephant vocalisations from

noisy recordings as long as the harmonic structure of vocalizations is not

buried in background noise.

In (Seneviratne et al 2004) the authors discuss the design and

implementation of an electronic sensor and analysis system for the detection

of Infra-sound elephant calls. The proposed electronic system will contain

43

sensors to detect Infra-sound calls, Signal Processing devices and also

automatic deterrence systems for persuading rogue elephants to move away

from protected areas. Isolating and selectively enhancing Infrasound signals

in highly noisy environments is a challenge and the noise may be from

uncorrelated sources as well as highly correlated sources such as a multitude

of insect noise as well as larger animals like frogs, birds, aquatic life, human

voices and vehicle noise.

Vermeulen et al (2013) proposed an Unmanned Aircraft System to

survey elephants, the elephant. The images are acquired at a height of 100 m

but it possess a small flight time of 45 min, the distance covered by is 40 km,

expensive and not autonomous.

Dabarera & Rodrigo (2010) proposed appearance based recognition

algorithms for identification of elephant. Given the frontal face image of an

elephant, the system searches the individual elephant using vision algorithms

and gives the result as, already identified elephant, or as a new identification.

The accuracy of this system is affected by the low quality of the images, the

strange poses of the head positions of the elephant and high illumination

variances. The system is also a semi-automated mechanism for elephant

tracking. Head position of elephant cannot be captured at a proper angle.

Ardovini et al (2008) present an elephant photo identification

system based on the shape comparison of the nicks characterizing the

is used by the system as a basis for a set of

segmentation and normalization hypotheses aimed at comparing a query

photo Q with different photos of the system database possibly representing

the same individual as Q. The proposed shape comparison method is based on

matching multiple, non-connected curves. The borde

profile extracted using a common edge detector is very hardly completely

connected and it is sometimes partially occluded by other elephants or trees.

44

Goswami et al (2011) addressed the process of identifying

elephants from photographs, and comparing resultant capture recapture based

population parameter estimates using supervised visual identification of

individual variations in tusk, ear fold and lobe shape. The authors show that

this is a reliable technique for individual identification and subsequent

front image is not possible.

In Walas et al (2008) the authors discussed a multi-layered drive

control for walking robot. This was implemented by using six-legged robot

with 18 DOF. Each leg uses 3 DOF. Each joint used one DC-servomotor and

synchronization was done among the legs using master slave concept. The

authors also addressed sensing system issues for walking robot using closed

control loops through these sensors. However the main problem is to

coordinate 18 joints while walking with particular gait. The problem was

solved by designing dedicated distributed control architecture.

In Amaral et al (2010), the authors designed a robot that walked on

straight, curved paths, detecting and overcoming known obstacles. Obstacle

overcoming is done using information from contact sensors installed on the

robot feet. Complex movements and tracking sequences are proposed to be

built from a small group of simple movements sequenced according to the

contact key switching sequence. Leg cooperative movements that move the

robot are synchronized through a gait matrix and an addressing algorithm that

moves the robot body laterally during straight or curved walking trajectories.

In Szrek & Wójtowicz 2010) the authors discussed about the

construction of the LegVan wheel-legged robot with an autonomous leveling

and obstacle detection system.

suspension system, general operation strategy and control system. The wheel-

legged robot has been designed mainly to operate in an uneven terrain and to

45

be able to overpass obstacles by walking. The robot has one central control

computer and several local autonomous controllers. The central computer is

located on the robot and it wirelessly communicates with a remote control

computer (the user). The local systems are responsible for the execution of the

desired robot motions and for taking all the measurements.

In Raibert et al (2008) the authors developed a new breed of rough-

terrain robots called BigDog that captured the mobility, autonomy and speed

of living creatures. Such robots could travel in outdoor rough terrains which

are difficult to travel for conventional robot vehicle platforms. BigDog has

about 50 sensors. Inertial sensors measure the attitude and acceleration of the

body, while joint sensors measure motion and force of the actuators working

at the joints. The onboard computer integrates information from these sensors

to provide estimates of how BigDog is moving in space. Other sensors

monitor BigDog's homeostasis: hydraulic pressure, flow and temperature,

engine speed and temperature, and the like. The onboard computer performs

both low-level and high level control functions. The low-level control system

servos control the positions and forces at the joints. The high-level control

system coordinates behavior of the legs to regulate the velocity, attitude and

altitude of the body during locomotion. The control system also regulates

ground interaction forces to maintain support, propulsion and traction.

2.5 NEED FOR EARLY WARNING SYSTEM

It is easier to chase elephants before they enter fields and therefore,

most damage can be averted (Sitati et al 2005). Guarding from watch towers,

patrolling and trip wire alarms provide farmers with advance warning of

approaching elephants. Once the animals are detected, active crop guarding

devices using light and noise are deployed to chase them away. This is

because once elephants enter a cultivated field they cause significant damage

and can be difficult to drive away, even using novel active deterrents

46

An early warning system to minimize the human elephant conflict

in the forest border areas is proposed in this article. The system helps mitigate

such conflicts in two ways:

(1) Provides warning to people about the anticipated entry of

elephants into human habitation.

(2) Provides advance information to the authorities to take action

to chase the pachyderms back to the forest.

An early warning system is proposed in this work to detect the

movement of elephants in the forest border areas. An analytical procedure is

developed to study the behavior of elephants taking migration data into

consideration using a three-state Markov chain. Hardware module for

elephant intrusion detection system is designed to monitor the elephant

movement into the human habitation and sending early warning through short

messaging service (SMS) to the forest officials to take necessary action.

In this work, a four-legged and wheeled robot, namely the Wheeled

Quadruped Robot is developed specially to move in any terrain i.e. both walk

using legs and move on wheels. The robot proposed is used in detecting

elephants in forest border areas only, not inside the forest. The robot can be

laid in certain elephant pockets through which the elephants normally come

out of the forest and enter human habitation. The Quadruped Robot is made to

move in a predetermined path to capture the elephant image in and around

these pockets.

An early warning system to minimize the human elephant conflict

in the forest border areas using image processing is developed in this work.

The system helps to detect the elephants even in the presence of other wild

animals like Bison, Tiger, and Deer etc. The system also identifies the

47

elephants coming in groups. The reliability of elephant detection is tested and

the time to detect the elephant images is optimized with the proposed

optimized distance metric.

Elephants are the largest terrestrial mammals which uses infrasonic

vocalization to communicate over short and long distances (Venter &

Hanekom 2010). A recording of elephant vocal communication is used in this

work to determine whether the signal represents an elephant sound or not. The

system consists of a FM transmitter and receiver, an amplifier, and an audio

jack connected to a PC to record and analyze. When the sound of an elephant

crosses a threshold an SMS is sent to the forest officials.

2.6 CONCLUSION

The literature review presented contributes to analysis of HEC

patterns. The principal mitigation traditional techniques are not very efficient

indicating that there is much scope for trying out simple, low-cost active

deterrence methods with early warning. The mitigation strategies provide

viable solutions for human elephant conflict. The effectiveness of the

mitigation techniques and livelihood strategies helps in conserving both

humans and elephants. Human-elephant conflict has taken place since the

advent of agriculture, and will carry on if our burgeoning human population

continues to encroach upon natural habitat. For the conservation of the Asian

elephant it is imperative that researchers continue investigating correlates of

elephant damage so as to improve present relations as well as prevent conflict

from occurring in the future. The HEC strategy improves elephant habitat,

and aid communities in generating income from the forest by harvesting

certain plants in a sustainable manner.