Conservationists in India’s Assam state have created a mobile phone app aimed at warning people of approaching elephant herds so that they can get out of the way and avoid death or injury.
According to wildlife charity WWF, there are fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants left in the wild – but estimates suggest that half-a-million families in India are affected by crop-raiding elephants each year.
The BBC reports that, according to official data cited by the Hindustan Times in March, as many as 1,701 people were killed by elephants in India from 2020 to 2024.
Assam has one of the biggest elephant populations in India, and a high number of elephant and human deaths have been caused by their interactions.
Conservationists say elephants are becoming more aggressive in Assam because their habitats are shrinking, and even their traditional natural corridors are being encroached upon.
The Haati app launched in Assam to reduce fatalities has been developed by Aaranyak, a biodiversity organisation in north-east India.
The BBC says that Aaranyak has also unveiled a handbook on solar-powered fences which can deter elephants.