Elephant trip alarms
Trip alarms, consisting of polyethylene string attached to a car siren, work well if the area covered was not too large or when deployed across a well-known route taken by elephants to reach certain fields (O'Connell, 1995). Problems included the potential for elephants to become habituated to the sound of the siren and potential disturbance of homesteads or tourism operations from the sound of the sirens.
O'Connell found that the system was easy to erect and maintain and the low cost meant that farmers could afford it, particularly if a few farmers joined together. According to O'Connell-Rodwell et al (2000) trip-alarms were a successful short-term measure for protecting individual farms, but did not have an impact on the overall number of conflicts.
Elephant trip alarms cost around N$800 (≈ 115 US $) at 1995 prices (O’Connell 1995).
O'Connell found that the system was easy to erect and maintain and the low cost meant that farmers could afford it, particularly if a few farmers joined together. According to O'Connell-Rodwell et al (2000) trip-alarms were a successful short-term measure for protecting individual farms, but did not have an impact on the overall number of conflicts.
Elephant trip alarms cost around N$800 (≈ 115 US $) at 1995 prices (O’Connell 1995).
