Kenya turns to drones in elephant conservation

DW (English)

In Kenya, a new tech-driven solution is changing how farmers and elephants coexist. For years, elephants raiding farms meant broken fences, destroyed crops, and dangerous confrontations. Now, drones equipped with thermal cameras and lights are giving communities an early warning system, spotting elephants at night and steering them away before damage occurs.

Transcript

00:00majestic powerful and deeply symbolic elephants are among Africa's most iconic animals yet in

00:17parts of Kenya their sheer size makes them both a wonder and a threat by day and night elephants

00:28cross farmland in search of food and water and for many rural families that journey often leaves a trail of destruction

00:36I am Mkulima from Heneo Hili. I am Mkulima from Heneo Hili. I am Mkulima from Nyenya, Maindi, Maharagwe,

00:54Itungu, Maharagwe, Itungu, and Maindi Pia. Today I am Mkulima from Nyenya. There are many animals that have been used in Heneo Hili.

01:09I am Mkulima from Ndofu. We are here in the Heneo Hili. We are here in the Heneo Hili. There was a drone and I got a drone.

01:19Here we have a square foot here with the Jared Haragwe. We are here in the Heneo Hili. We are here in the Heneo Hili.

01:26We are here in the Heneo Hili. How many dogs would be able to help us to see that?

01:33from broken fences to sample crops human elephant conflict has become one of the

01:43biggest challenges in conservation now technology is giving farmers and

01:53rangers new tools drones equipped with thermal cameras can support elephants at

02:03night and alert communities before damage occurs

02:09what the only thing you need to do is that you fly direct above the elephants and due to this

02:16it has some lights the flashlights and the sound the buzzing sounds and naturally elephants dislike

02:24this sounds disturbance so they have to turn back and leave the farm and it makes more easier because

02:31you can have it away from the farm it is more safe than any other method as far as you get any

02:39communication from the farmers that the elephants around their farms you just respond as early as

02:44possible because we have other elephants which are colored which gives us the real time so we keep on

02:50tracking them so it gives us the trail time and you have to deploy yourself as early as less than 10

02:56minutes you are there and you fly move them back to the conservancy

03:13with early warnings patrols can steer elephants away safely protecting both wildlife and livelihoods

03:20previously we were using torches vehicles and more so sometimes it goes ahead of blanks

03:29the firing of blanks and you need to be nearer to the elephant but for this one for the drone now you

03:36just have to be in a strategic play point whereby you just fly your drone and go as much as as far as

03:43four kilometers three kilometers away from the elephant so this one keeps you more more safe other than going

03:51towards the elephant

03:58in a landscape where people and elephants often collide technology is becoming the bridge ensuring kenya's

04:06it does giant survive while communities thrive

04:14you

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