CDs used to protect crops from elephants

November 5, 2008

CDs used to protect crops from elephants Monday, 03 Nov 2008 00:01

s-used-protect-crops-from-elephants-$1247575.htm

A wildlife sanctuary in Thailand has come up with an innovative way of

keeping elephants away from farmer's crops – unwanted CDs.

The Elephant Conservation Network (ECN), working alongside the Zoological

Society of London (ZSL), is the first to use the CDs as light reflectors to

deter the elephants from destroying Thailand's crops.

Ecologists in the country claim that " crop-raiding " commonly occurs on

traditional elephant forest routes with the large animals devouring crops

and destroying trees in their path. Human dwellings are also threatened with

a number of people injured or even killed.

ZSL Thailand elephant project manager and director of ECN, Belinda

Stewart-Cox, said: " We are working with farmers to find a cost-effective way

for them to keep elephants out of their fields.

" We've been monitoring human impacts on elephants and their forest habitat

as well as elephant impacts on people. What we've found is that people are

doing as much, or more, damage to elephants as vice versa. Elephants are

being deprived of habitat, food and water so they have no choice but to raid

farms to survive. "

Local villagers working with the ECN visited a south west Thailand national

park where other villagers were tackling the elephant crop-raiding problem.

" One villager had hung CDs across a fence to discourage elephants from

raiding his pineapple field. The technique was most effective during full

moon when the CDs twisted and shone, mimicking a person with a torch. Our

villagers loved this cheap and easy method and asked us to include it in our

crop protection trials. " Ms Stewart-Cox added.

As a result, CDs have now been strung around the Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary

in two different sites, with local companies donating hundreds of unwanted

CDs.

Recommended Posts