Tamil Nadu launches AI-enabled collision prevention system to prevent elephant deaths on Railway tracks

Chennai: In view of the recent increase in Human-elephant conflicts, the Tamil Nadu Forest department has launched an ambitious Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning enabled surveillance system to prevent death of elephants on railway tracks.

The state-of-the-art collision prevention system on Railway track was launched-by the Minister for Forest Dr.M.Mathiventhan in the presence of Ms Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forest Department and Srinivas.R.Reddy, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, at Madukkarai, Coimbatore District.

The data generated by the AI-powered system would significantly reduce the elephant deaths on railway tracks, study the behaviour of the elephant and profiling of individual elephant.

The Coimbatore Forest division has experienced a significant increase in the occurrence of Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in recent times, officials said.

Elephants in the Coimbatore Forest division are seasonal migrants that move from Nilgiris and Sathyamangalam to the southern region of Kerala state forest areas through Coimbatore Forest division.

Specific locations, such as Walayar, Bolampatty, Anaikatti reserve forests, Gopinari reserve forests, Hulical, Jaccanari slopes, Nilgiris Eastern Slope reserve forests, Sholakkarai, Singapathy and Iruttupallam blocks, are their preferred retreats during the rainy season.

The rising elephant population, disturbances in migration corridors, increased developmental activities in and along the animal migratory paths, changes in land use patterns and agricultural practices, anthropogenic pressure, and linear infrastructure developments have severe impacts on elephant behaviour, leading to negative interactions between humans and elephants. These factors contribute to the increasing instances of Human-Elephant Conflict in the region, officials said.