Electric Fencing for Elephant

Human-elephant conflict is an enormous challenge for farmers, conservationists, and political leaders to deal with. Tools to mitigate human-elephant conflict are expensive and will always need to be maintained requiring enormous resources from a range of different stakeholders.

In some cases, it may be difficult to sustain the cost of tools to mitigate human-elephant conflict. Therefore wherever possible it is really important to try and prevent human-elephant conflict from occurring in the first place through proper land-use planning to reduce cultivation and prevent the fragmentation of the natural habitats where elephants live.

Prevention is safer, simpler, and probably cheaper in the long term than trying to cure the problem of human-elephant conflict.Electrified fences are a potentially effective measure for reducing human-elephant conflict where it already occurs. 

Elephant & Electric Fencing

Building a fence to control an animal that typically weighs around 2500kg is no easy task. Especially when the fence has to be built through difficult jungle terrain in hot and humid conditions. The fences are mostly installed in linear sections, each up to 20km in length. Standing up to 1.82metres high, fences typically consist of three wires, two of which are live. When an elephant touches the fence they get a short, sharp shock and this deters them from pushing against the fence again. Elephants are highly intelligent animals that learn from observation. They approach the fences with caution.

Installing Electric Fencing for Elephant

An electric fence is comprised of the following components:

1. A solar panel that converts sunshine into electricity;

2. A charge control which regulates the flow of power into a battery;

3. A battery that stores the electricity generated by the solar panel;

4. An energizer that converts the power stored in the battery into a pulse of electricity down the live wires of a fence

5. Wooden fence posts. These have to be treated so that they are not eaten by termites;

6. High tensile wires that are either live (connected to the energizer) or earthed;

7. Plastic or porcelain insulators on the wooden fence posts for the live wires to pass through, ensuring the electric current is not interfered with. It is preferable if the wires run through the posts.

8. A strainer post to ensure the fence wires are well supported and are pulled tight.

9. Loops are a security mechanism securing the Electric pulse to flow over the top of the post. Elephants cannot get their trunks around to pull them down.

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