Elephants sniff and turn away

The A Rocha team fixing the chilli-tobacco elephant barrier

Farmers in villages around Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) have been suffering massive agricultural losses owing to elephant menace.

Chilli-Tobacco Barrier (CTB), a method to prevent elephants from entering fields, adopted by A. Rocha, an international conservation organisation in collaboration with the Karnataka Forest Department, has proved to be a boon to farmers.

Vijay D. Anand, national director, A. Rocha India said: “All it requires is a cotton rope smeared with tobacco and chilli powder. The rope should be mud-coated and mixed with used engine oil in proportionate quantity. Most farmers in this region are economically backward, and CTB is a method quite a few of them can finance independently.”

The CTB, in contrast to other barriers such as the rubble wall, electric fence and trenches, is a method which does not harm elephants. “The principle behind CTB is the superior sense of smell in elephants. The pungent odour of the chilli-tobacco paste irritates them, driving them away,” he added.

Related link: The Hindu