Drones, ground patrols deployed to keep wild elephants at bay in Ranni

Combining round-the-clock aerial surveillance with intensified ground patrols, the Forest department has launched a major operation across the forest fringes of Ranni to keep wild elephants away from human habitations. This comes amid a surge in elephant incursions into fringe villages.

The operation, which kicked off a week ago, deploys daytime drones and thermal drones for night surveillance to detect elephant movement at the earliest, enabling forest officials to issue timely warnings to residents and drive the animals back into the forest before they enter populated areas.

The intensified vigil takes a cue from a recent meeting chaired by Forest Minister Shibu Baby John to review measures to tackle the worsening human-wildlife conflict in the region. The surveillance has been launched on the directions of the Ranni Divisional Forest Officer (DFO).

A special team comprising personnel from the Kochukoyikkal and Plappally forest stations and the ranni rapid response team (RRT) has been deployed for the operation, which will continue across vulnerable forest fringe settlements.

“Both daytime drones and thermal drones have been deployed to monitor elephant movement, with the RRT stationed on the ground. The Minister has also sanctioned a satellite RRT for the Thannithodu-Vadasserikkara sector. Members of the vana samrakshana samithi (VSS) and the primary response team are also on duty as part of this round-the-clock operation,” said Rajesh, DFO, Ranni.

Work on a six-km single-line solar fence along the forest boundary is also progressing, with nearly three km already completed. ”Once the fencing is completed, the elephants will remain on the forest side of the barrier. Until then, drones will continue to remain on duty,” the official added.

The surveillance operation is focussed on areas such as Kochukoyikkal and Valupara, which are among the worst-affected pockets for wild elephant incursions. It has already yielded results, with officials detecting elephant movement and issuing precautionary alerts to local residents. Subsequent surveillance in Third Block, Fourth Block and Kochukoyikkal did not detect elephant presence at the time of inspection, although all three areas remain vulnerable to frequent elephant intrusions.