RANCHI: The country’s first human-elephant conflict research centre is set to be established in Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Jharkhand. The state government has prepared a proposal for the initiative and identified a nearly 15-acre site inside the reserve for the facility.
The proposed centre will conduct an in-depth analysis of data related to human-elephant conflicts and prepare solution-oriented reports to help mitigate such incidents. It will also make use of AI technology for research and assessment.
Although several surveys have previously been carried out on human-elephant conflict and measures such as the formation of Quick Response Teams (QRTs), this will be the country’s first dedicated research facility to systematically and practically study conflict-related data from across India.
According to PTR Deputy Director, Prajesh Kant Jena, the research centre will specifically observe and analyse the types of vocalisations and sounds that elephants emit during conflict or during the process of giving birth.
Assessments will be conducted to observe how elephants behave—or what vocalisations they make—when interacting with other herds, foraging for food, seeking water or signaling danger, he said. Jena said that their behaviour during the rainy, hot or cold seasons will also be studied, besides their temperament during the mating season.
“A proposal has been prepared to set up the country’s first Integrated human-elephant conflict research centre in PTR. The facility will initiate research activities involving captive elephants and enable an extensive study of human-elephant conflict, including elephant behaviour, human responses, underlying causes of conflict,” said Jena.
Full analysis
The proposed centre will conduct an in-depth analysis of data related to human-elephant conflicts
It will prepare solution-oriented reports to help mitigate such incidents, using AI for research