Coimbatore farmers scare away elephants with recorded sounds of barking dogs, buzzing bees, blaring ambulance siren

COIMBATORE: To mitigate frequent elephant intrusions, farmers near Coimbatore have resorted to a unique way to prevent wild elephants from destroying their agricultural fields.

As the elephants, undeterred by the control measures like solar fencing and trenches, continue to find their way into farmlands and attack crops, the farmers have started utilising recorded sounds of barking dogs, the sound of the ambulance sirens, and the buzz of honey bees to keep the pachyderms away.

The Lingapuram, Kandhavayal, Kandhayar, and Uliyur villages in the Sirumugai forest area are prone to frequent elephant intrusions, and the farmers from these places are armed with amplifiers while guarding their farms during night hours.

“The workers engaged by farm owners for guard duty at night turn on their speakers with recorded sounds to scare away the elephants when they intrude on a farm. The elephants mostly retreat into the forest area and only a few habituated elephants attack the crops. The forest personnel drive them away,” said S Marimuthu, a farmer from Lingapuram village.

Meanwhile, the forest department has appealed to farmers and the public not to attempt to drive away wild elephants entering their fields but rather inform the forest department immediately.

“People attempting to drive away wild elephants entering their residential areas or farmlands may turn risky. They should inform the forest department for any action,” said Joseph Stalin, Forest Range Officer, at Mettupalayam Range.

For instance, an elephant nicknamed Bahubali habitually travels from the Nellimalai forest area in Mettupalayam to the Kallar forest area by crossing Samayapuram Road and people take photos of it and selfies, unaware of the risks involved, the official said.

“Multiple teams have been monitoring the pachyderms round the clock. Infuriating them may result in man-animal conflicts,” the official added.