RANCHI: The Jharkhand Forest Department is all set to launch the ‘Elephant Route Predictor’ app, which is designed to track potential elephant routes in a manner similar to weather forecasts. The app has been prepared based on research studies of legacy data about elephant movement in a particular corridor.
Hazaribagh DFO (East) Vikas Kumar Ujjwal, the man behind the app, has been working on it for the last few months. Limited testing of the app was also done during his posting in Simdega.
According to DFO, the app is now in its final stage and will soon be launched on a pilot basis in Hazaribagh itself. In the second phase, it will be made available to the frontline forest staff and then to the Jharkhand Forest Management Committees (JFMC).
According to Ujjwal, this web-based application has been programmed to think like an elephant before making a choice about its migration route.
“It accepts input in the form of GPS coordinates (Longitude & Latitude) in DMS format of the elephant’s current location and, on clicking “Predict Path”, gives a mean path along with the potential conflict zone where the elephant might deviate from its mean path prediction,” said the DFO.
He added that it has been proven to be more than 80% accurate as of now and helps frontline forest staff alert villagers in advance, position QRTs in anticipation of conflict, and drive them carefully (if required).
The DFO further added that it also gives a clue about the whereabouts of the elephants at night from the last sighted location. It is being proved to be a very helpful tool in Human-elephant conflict (HEC) management and the safety of forest staff (and elephant driving teams), he said.
The DFO further informed that the Google Earth Engine App has been launched in four elephant landscapes of the division: Daru, Tatijharia, and Bagodar of Hazaribagh East division.