Kenyan Elephants SMS Their Movements to Protect Villagers.
In many parts of Africa the buffer between local inhabitants and wild animals is very narrow. In Kenya elephants from the Ol Pejeta Conservancy were moving out at night and destroying small farmer’s fields of staple food such as maize and banana.
After trying many schemes to control the elephants, including planting chilies which were supposed to repel them, game rangers have resorted to cellular technology. Elephants are fitted with collars holding a mobile phone SIM card that sends text messages to protect the farmers and their crops.
The system works by setting up virtual fences which alert rangers when elephants break through, allowing them to be coaxed back to the conservancy. Apparently the learning has been swift and fewer and fewer night drives are required to keep the elephants in Ol Pejeta.
Photo Credit: by Eric Kilby on Flickr under a Creative Commons license.
