Office Hours Q and A - OSU PDC PRO - Winter/Spring 2024 - 5/10 - Elephants and Arid Design

0:00 START Potential Elephant Remedies
The key is understanding the landscape and understanding the designated corridor. elephants normally travel towards water or in search of food and minerals.
The proven and tested methods are as follows
Non-preferred Crop Cultivation: Under natural conditions, elephants mostly prefer plants, like paddy, grass, bamboo, jackfruit, mango, and banana. Some unpalatable crops, for example chilli, citrus, bitter gourd, okra, taro and teasel gourd are considered as non-preferred crops for elephants as they do not like these crops because of their tastes.
The non-palatable plantations can be used 200 meters on both sides of the corridor/passage so that the elephants do not find anything interesting.
Bio-fencing: Bio-fences are lines of closely planted trees or shrubs on the boundaries of farms or human settlements that provide protection against wildlife. For elephants, bio-fencing technique involves growing cane or other species (with sharp spines on the stem) on human settlement/farm boundaries to deter elephants from entering human habitations and crop fields. This technique is environment friendly, cost-effective and more useful than fences made of wood, barbed wire and effectively prevents elephants from intruding into human settlements.
Trip Alarm: Trip alarm is a warning system to prevent elephants from damaging the crop fields or human settlements. A thin wire is installed around a field or a settlement at the usual entrance of elephants; whenever the wired circuit is broken, it makes a loud sound. The noise alerts people and irritates elephants tending them to go back without entering human territory.
The installation of this cost effective early warning system is easy, requiring regular maintenance without frequent replacements.
Chilli Rope: Chilli rope is a technique where chilli powder is mixed with grease and dry tobacco leaf, and then applied on ropes along the perimeter of a crop field for repelling elephants. This technique uses locally available and affordable materials and a recommended variety of locally grown hottest chilli ( ghost pepper) as elephants do not like the smell of chilli.
Plantation in Elephant Habitat: Not getting enough food in the forests, elephants often come to human territory in search of food. Enrichment of denuded areas with fodder and shade tree species for ensuring a favourable environment for elephants, also termed as habitat improvement, is an efficient way to satiate the need for food and nourishment.
This particular method has been implemented by the forest department and has proven to be effective as the elephants' hunger is satiated and they do not venture far in search of food. This particular method is effective when large parcels of land are available or there is enough land to spare. It sure does attract more animals and there has to be enough for all and availability has to be ensured all year round especially during lean season (either monsoons and flooding season or during dry season) which depends from area to area.
Salt lick Method where different proportions of normal and rock salts are mixed and spread on the area with watering. This has to be done after clearing the area of all shrubs and leaving only mature trees and has to be done well outside the boundary.
Salt lick reduces the demand of minerals by elephants and in turn reduces damage of household/ farm properties for search of minerals. These also become a sort of rally point where lots of elephants can be observed and monitored.
5:00 Water Management Assignment Discussion
59:00 Announcements
Oregon State University offers one of the most design focused Permaculture Design Certificates focusing on training Permaculture Designers available today.
Every other week during the PDC PRO students meet with their grader (in this case me) and ask questions about the course, permaculture and regenerative land design.
If you're interested in the course check the link below:
allpointsdesign.ca/workshops/...
Learn more about Javan and All Points Design at allpointsdesign.ca