In a move to ensure advance notice with regard to forest fires and to keep track of and prevent negative human-animal interactions, the Coimbatore Forest Division has set up three thermal image cameras at a cost of ₹10 lakh each.
Also read: Waking to the call of the wild
The Coimbatore Forest Division comprises the Boluvampatti, Madukkarai, Periyanaickenpalayam, Karamadai, Mettuppalayam and Sirumugai forest ranges. Between 2021 and 2023, a report indicates, elephants strayed out of forests and into human habitations 9,028 times. There are also other issues: in the Madukkarai range for instance, elephants who ventured outside of forests and went across railway tracks have been run over by trains. To prevent this, an Artificial Intelligence system was recently established at a cost of ₹7.24 crores.
The three thermal image cameras have been set up at Marudhamalai near Subramaniawamy temple, near Thadagam Ponnuthu Amman temple and at Madukkarai near the Ulagambikai Amman temple. The cameras have been installed on tall tower that have a 360-degree view. Unlike regular cameras that can only photograph for a range of 100 to 150 meters, these thermal image cameras can record animal movement over a range of one km. The cameras are also equipped with wipers so they can work during the rains, and the towers are equipped with lightning arresters.
The cameras will photograph and videograph animal movements and send these images to the control room at the Divisional Forest Office. The staff at the Forest Office can, in turn, alert field staff to mitigate potential conflict situations.
The Forest division proposes to set up seven more such cameras by the end of this month.
