The Forest department has installed an Artificial Intelligence-enabled surveillance camera system at Anakkulam, under the Mankulam forest division in Idukki, to provide imagery of herds of wild elephant reaching the famed waterhole here.
According to officials, live images from the spot will be made available to tourists through a Telegram channel named ‘Anakkulam Elephant Oru’. The Mankulam forest division has implemented the project in association with Government Engineering College, Idukki.
S. Santhosh Kumar, faculty at the college who led the project, said that the images will be available within 30 seconds to one minute of it being clicked.
“An expert team from the college has helped set up an AI camera near the water hole at Anakkulam, which will provide the images round the clock. To get them, users will may type “Nowa” and send it in the Telegram channel,” said Mr. Santhosh Kumar.
Mankulam Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) K.B. Subash said that the nearby forest office in Anakkulam receives many phone calls daily about the arrival of wild elephants at the waterhole.
“A large number of tourists arrived to watch wild elephants closely without fear. Such tourists make it a point to enquire about the arrival of wild elephants at the waterhole. Through the new system, this will be easier,” said the official.
“Herds of elephants stay in the river here for at least five hours at a time. When aware of the presence, the tourists can easily reach Anakkulam from Mankulam,” said the DFO.
Mankulam forest division is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Western Ghats in the State. Besides, Anakkulam has emerged as a major tourist destination in the district.
According to officials, wild elephants and their calves from the forests under the Malayattoor forest division frequently find their ways up to the Anakkulam River in search of water. The water bubbles in the river that have a particular salty flavour especially attract the wild elephants.
In November, 2022, the Forest authorities at Mankulam had installed an AI-enabled surveillance camera system to monitor the presence of wild animals near human settlements.
