Nagarkurnool: Amrabad reserve gets hi-tech animal detectors

Nagarkurnool: The Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR) officials have installed a solar-powered sensor-based Animal Intrusion Detection and Repellent System (ANIDERS), which raises an alarm when a wild animal passes within its radius. The move aims at minimising man-animal conflict and helping farmers save their fields. The officials installed an ANIDERS at Turkapally village near Mannanur, which […]

Nagarkurnool: The Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR) officials have installed a solar-powered sensor-based Animal Intrusion Detection and Repellent System (ANIDERS), which raises an alarm when a wild animal passes within its radius.

The move aims at minimising man-animal conflict and helping farmers save their fields. The officials installed an ANIDERS at Turkapally village near Mannanur, which is one among the fringe areas of the forests, as part of the pilot project.

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The movement of animals, especially wild boars and spotted deer, in fields, has been a cause of concern for the farming community. Though the Forest Department pays compensation for crop loss due to the movement of wild animals, farmers and local residents are a worried lot. Residents fix electric snares, which can be lethal for the animals. After getting caught in the snares, most often, the animals die, a senior official from the ATR said.

After repeated appeals, a few farmers installed loudspeakers in their fields to trigger sounds when they spot a wild animal at night. But, this was physically cumbersome as farmers had to stay awake all night and keep a vigil.

Now, to help them and minimise man-animal conflict, the ATR has installed an ANIDER, which serves as a mechanised scarecrow. Each device covers an area of 30-40 m on either side of its location. As soon as a wild animal enters its radius, the sensor detects the movement and an alarm is raised.

Unlike Karnataka, where ANIDERS are installed at a height to prevent the movement of elephants into the fields, ATR officials have installed it at a very low height as the movement of wild boars, spotted deer and others is high in the reserve forest area limits.

Powered by solar energy and eco-friendly, each unit costs Rs 18,000-Rs 20,000 and covers two-three acres. “We are hopeful that it will be successful. Based on the farmers’ feedback and efficiency of the device, the exercise will be replicated in other areas of the ATR,” FDO Rohit Gopidi said.