Tamil Nadu: Forest officials in Tamil Nadu's Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) have utilised bio-repellents to keep wild elephants out of human settlements, which has resulted in fewer jumbo attacks.

ATR officials have been mixing bio-repellent in water and spraying it around households and shops in Mudis estate, TANTEA, Sangali road, and Urulikkal since December 2021. The bio-repellent was taken from a plant, according to forest officials, and was relatively nontoxic while yet being effective against elephants. 

According to ATR officials, elephants can detect its odour from up to one and a half kilometres away and avoid human settlements.

The number of elephant attacks has decreased since the application of the bio-repellent, according to a senior officer from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department based in Anamalai. According to him, around 200 elephant invasions were reported in 2020-21, but this has dropped to 140-150 elephant intrusions in the subsequent period of 2021-22.

The majority of these elephants had gone inside to Tamil Nadu-Kerala woods from the Valpara plateau areas, according to Forest Department studies.

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