The northeastern Indian state of Assam has launched a mobile app to warn people of approaching herds of wild elephants as part of an effort to reduce violent conflict between humans and giant land elephants.
Human-elephant conflicts are common in India and have been increasing in recent years, with elephants becoming more aggressive as their habitats and natural corridors shrink to make way for urban development.
HaatiApp, developed by Assam-based conservation group Aaranyak, tracks the movements of wild elephant herds and alerts users of imminent conflicts.
The group reported that more than 200 elephants were killed and over 400 people were killed in human-elephant conflict in the state between 2017 and 2022.
“Fueled by a combination of population growth and poverty, humans have expanded their habitat, but animals have found the jungle shrinking.”
The app also allows residents to report elephant sightings, injuries or deaths, and damage to crops and property, and includes a form that victims can use to seek compensation from Aaranyak government agencies.
Villagers watch over wild elephants as they roam a tea plantation near Siliguri, India, in 2017. Diptendu Dutta/AFP – Getty Images File
“The app will act as an early warning system for the presence of wild elephants near human settlements and help villagers avoid harmful contact with wild elephants,” Aaranyak said in a Facebook post after the app’s launch this month.
Along with the release of the app, Aaranyak has also released a handbook with information on using solar-powered fences to keep elephants away from people and property.
Assam is also known for its vast agricultural areas and numerous wildlife sanctuaries that provide refuge for endangered animals such as the Asian elephant and Indian rhinoceros.
The state is home to 5,700 elephants, the second-largest in India after the southwestern state of Karnataka (which has more than 6,000).
