Scientists develop novel techniques to help stop human-elephant conflict in Thailand

The Asian Elephant in Thailand: A Growing Conflict

• The Asian elephant is Thailand's national animal and a significant part of the country's identity, with a century ago 90% of Thailand being covered in lush forests where over 100,000 wild elephants roamed (14s).
• Today, the natural habitat of wild elephants in Thailand has been reduced by more than half, with only an estimated 4,400 wild elephants remaining, creating a growing conflict between humans and elephants (25s).
• In Western Thailand, villagers are dealing with weekly elephant invasions, and scientists are working on novel solutions to combat the problem (42s).
• The Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary in Western Thailand is an unconfined, lush green haven that allows 300 wild Asian elephants to roam freely, and Wildlife Ranger Suti Chai has been working there for 9 years, noticing an increase in the number of elephants in the sanctuary (1m21s).

Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary: A Haven for Elephants

• The sanctuary, established 60 years ago as Thailand's first wildlife sanctuary, contains over 300 square miles of dense bamboo forests, streams, and watering holes, providing a protected home for wild elephants (1m57s).
• Elephants have always held a special place in Thailand's rich history, considered sacred in Buddhism, and once a symbol of power for Thai royalty and a weapon of war (2m19s).

The Impact of Logging and Tourism on Elephants

• The logging industry in Thailand, which ended in 1989, destroyed more than half of the elephants' natural habitat, and the government moved to find new homes for the elephants, including the National Conservation Center in Northern Thailand (2m36s).
• Many elephants were brought into tourism, an industry that brings millions into the Thai economy, but the country's remaining 4,000 wild elephants face a different future, with their population growing about 8% a year, forcing some into communities to look for food (3m27s).

The Rising Human-Elephant Conflict

• Over the last 6 years, at least 135 people have been killed by elephants in Thailand, and stopping these massive beasts isn't easy, as it's illegal to shoot even a charging elephant in Thailand (3m48s).
• American researcher Dr. Josh Plotnik and his team are trying to find a way for people and elephants to live peacefully, and they believe that reducing the space for wildlife inevitably leads to conflicts with humans (4m11s).

Understanding Elephant Psychology and Behavior

• Josh Plotnik, a professor of animal behavior and cognition at Hunter College in New York, has led a research team in Thailand for 13 years to understand elephant psychology and why elephants do the things they do (5m18s).
• Asian elephants are a unique breed, smaller than their African cousins, and have distinct physical characteristics such as a pinkish glow and a divot on their head creating two distinct domes (5m34s).
• Not all elephants are alike, and they exhibit innovation, problem-solving, and cooperation, with some being more afraid of new objects and others being braver when interacting with predators or humans (5m55s).
• Asian elephants have brains four times larger than humans, making them one of the most intelligent animals in the world, and their behavior is largely learned rather than instinctive (6m13s).
• The unique experiences of elephants create unique personalities, which helps understand why human-elephant conflict occurs and why not every elephant in the wild interacts with people in a negative way (6m30s).

Crop Raiding and Economic Losses

• In some provinces in Thailand, villagers are worried about elephants raiding their crop fields, which can result in significant financial losses and even human deaths (7m2s).
• Elephants are attracted to high-octane crops like cassava and sugar cane, and they often navigate electric fences to reach these crops, causing damage to fields and farms (7m16s).
• Farmer Weir Wong has seen his income cut by nearly a quarter due to weekly elephant incursions and has tried to scare them away by flashing lights and throwing firecrackers (8m1s).
• The human-elephant conflict has resulted in damage to homes and cars, and even human deaths, including the death of Weir Wong's uncle and P echon's husband, who was killed trying to protect their crops (8m45s).

The Devastating Consequences of Human-Elephant Conflict

• Human-elephant conflict in Thailand is a significant issue, with elephants occasionally invading homes at night, running along roads, and raiding sugar cane trucks, resulting in trampled people and damaged property (9m16s).
• To address this issue, researchers are exploring various solutions, including finding alternative crops that elephants are not attracted to and setting up permanent barriers (9m41s).
• A unique approach being tried is focusing on the elephant's behavior, as it varies from one individual to another, and developing strategies targeted at specific personality traits (9m53s).

A Targeted Approach to Conflict Resolution

• Dr. Josh Plotnik and his research team are working on a "targeted personality device" to prevent elephants from entering crop fields (10m21s).
• Decades of deforestation and overdevelopment of natural habitats have led to wild animals, including Asian elephants, searching for new food sources, resulting in conflicts with humans (10m47s).
• In Thailand, wild Asian elephants have wandered into towns and villages, sometimes with deadly consequences, prompting researcher Dr. Josh Plotnik to find a solution (11m1s).

Studying Elephant Behavior and Cognition

• Dr. Plotnik's research on Asian elephant behavior began 13 years ago in Northern Thailand, where he observed a 5-year-old elephant, Lynchi, exhibiting self-directed behavior in front of a mirror (11m37s).
• Most of what is known about elephant behavior comes from long-term field sites in Africa and Asia, but studying the elephant's mind requires controlled experiments, which are challenging to conduct in the wild (12m10s).
• Dr. Plotnik's team has been conducting long-term studies of wild Asian elephant behavior in Thailand's Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary, including experiments with novel objects and a groundbreaking "puzzle box" test (12m38s).

The Puzzle Box Test: Unveiling Elephant Intelligence

• The puzzle box test, designed by postdoctoral researcher Sarah Jacobson, consists of three metal boxes with different doors and a sweet reward inside, aiming to understand the elephants' problem-solving abilities (13m4s).
• Elephants are skilled problem solvers, particularly when hungry, and can smell water and food from as far as 12 miles away, making them innovative with puzzle boxes (13m50s).
• A 17-year-old elephant named Na was able to solve a puzzle box by knocking on it repeatedly and eventually finding the correct door to open, demonstrating innovation and problem-solving skills (14m11s).
• When the puzzle box was tested in the wild, some elephants were afraid and ran away, while others tried using brute force or were fascinated but left puzzled; however, 58 out of 176 elephants that approached the box were able to solve at least one door over a period of two years (15m18s).
• A 5-ton adult male elephant was able to figure out all three doors in less than two minutes, showcasing exceptional problem-solving skills (15m30s).
• The puzzle-solving experiments have shown that elephants, like people, exhibit a range of innovation and persistence, which could be key in deterring tenacious elephants from raiding farms and villages (15m48s).

Elephant Adaptability and the Need for Flexible Deterrence

• Elephants have evolved to hear and smell well, and use their trunks to manipulate their environment, making them adaptable to new situations; however, certain personality traits can make them find ways around deterrence measures (16m5s).
• To keep elephants away from humans, a flexible approach is needed, taking into account their cognitive flexibility and adaptability (16m24s).

Tracking Elephants and Warning Communities

• Veterinarian and leading Thai wildlife researcher Borat Siri works with a local patrol to track down wild elephants, including a 20-year-old elephant named Mango, who had made his way into a rural village in eastern Thailand (16m42s).
• Mango was tracked using a massive tracking collar that sends coordinates to Borat's mailbox every day, allowing him to warn locals of the elephant's whereabouts and help them prepare for potential encounters (17m53s).
• The tracking data is monitored at a command center, where a team tracks five tagged elephants, including Mango, and sends warnings to locals based on the elephants' movements (18m18s).
• A command center sends photos of spotted elephants to village patrols' phones, warning families of potential danger and the elephants' locations, with the goal of preventing human-elephant conflict (18m35s).

Developing a Targeted Personality Device

• Josh Plotnik is working with Bori Pat to develop theories on elephant behavior and prevent them from entering farms and villages, as it's challenging to deter elephants when they're searching for food (18m50s).
• Plotnik's team has created a "targeted personality device" to deter elephants, which targets mitigation for human-elephant conflict based on an individual elephant's personality traits (19m11s).
• The device has three programmable components and can be tailored to an elephant's specific personality traits, such as playing lights, sounds, or spraying odors to warn the elephant away (19m29s).
• By understanding an elephant's unique personality traits, scientists hope to create harmony between humans and elephants in Thailand (21m15s).
• The device can display lights, play acoustic information, and spray odors to create a sensory world for the elephant, simulating the presence of a potential predator (20m7s).
• The goal is to create a situation where the elephant doesn't want to enter a particular area, such as a crop field, by using the right combination of deterrents based on its personality traits (19m41s).
• Scientists believe that understanding each elephant's unique personality traits is key to resolving human-elephant conflict, as it allows for more effective and targeted mitigation strategies (21m18s).

The Importance of Understanding Elephant Personality

• Conservationists, scientists, and government officials have struggled to address human-elephant conflict, and Plotnik believes that a better understanding of elephant behavior and personality is necessary to promote coexistence (21m34s).