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Solutions derailed while elephants die on tracks
A Rs. 10 million funding project to prevent wild elephants being killed by trains has been stymied by a lack of ideas, departmental infighting and indecision, with many elephants still dying in violent collisions as they cross tracks in search of food and water.
Many elephants are dying in violent collisions as they cross tracks in search of food and water
Sri Lanka Railways and the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) are the implementing bodies for the pilot project, with finance allocated by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife in 2016, but disagreements between the two departments are preventing progress.
In the latest failure, four elephants were killed when a locomotive transporting fuel from Kolonnawa to Batticaloa collided with the elephants at Puwakpitiya, Palugaswewa. In 2015 – no later figures are available – 12 elephants were killed when crossing the tracks.
One solution to the continuing tragedy, according to former Railways General Manager S M Abeywickrema, had been an electric fence developed by Japanese experts that would keep elephants away from the tracks – but this had not been implemented by the DWC.
Another project considered by the DWC involved equipment along the track that would emit low-frequency sounds to drive elephants away, combined with a signalling system to notify an engine driver of elephants within 1km of a train.
Environmentalist Shashikalana Ratwatte said this pilot project had run for two years but the DWC had been reluctant to implement it, saying it (the DWC) lacked funds to buy the equipment.
Mr Ratwatte said when parts of the system, erected at Palugaswewa, had been stolen, although he and the system developer had made a complaint before the police, the DWC had held back from supporting an investigation.
DWC Director-General Chandana Sooriyabandara said the Department had not pushed for an investigation because it had decided not to proceed with the project.
He said that while the project had merit, because the group lacked the support of a developer, the DWC could not invest in it. Also, he said, the group had increased the cost of the equipment which made the Department reluctant to proceed with the venture.
Mr Sooriyabandara said his Department would consider any technology that could alert engine drivers to an elephant’s location. “The engine operator is the decision-maker who will save elephants,” he said.
Train drivers, however, say they live with the risk of collisions with elephants because both the Railways and Wildlife departments claim project after project had failed.
One such pilot project in 2014, carried out by both departments but later discontinued, involved thermal cameras fitted onto trains to identify any animal crossing the track ahead of a train. There were a few successes at the beginning, when drivers avoided collisions when cameras indicated elephants on the track, but, the Locomotive Engineers Union (LOEU) General Secretary D H Indika said problems arose later.
The thermal camera fitted to the train was unable to rotate, and therefore the forward-facing camera could not follow the train’s direction at bends. The screen lacked image recognition, therefore, the engine driver could only see a red dot on the track. Also, the cameras only showed what was 200-300m ahead. “We need to know if there are elephants on the track at least 2km ahead,” Mr Indika said.
Former General Manager of Railways, B A P Ariyaratne said that the fitting of thermal cameras on trains had come up when he was in office, and that the problems detailed above, and the expense of the cameras had made the project nonviable.
A further plan involved the posting of two wildlife officers on each train travelling through areas where elephants roam. Mr Sooriyabandara said this measure had to be shelved as it had taken staff away from operations within parks. “The two officers posted can only do little on the train as they too can only see the elephant within the distance that the engine operator sees it,” he said.
Mr Indika said the DWC officials placed on trains had been new recruits to the department and had lacked knowledge of the terrain. He said another project carried out by the DWC had been to erect warning signs of elephant crossings.
“We go slow in that area and elephants are not to be seen, then when we pass the area and increase speed the elephants are found crossing the track. Elephants don’t always take the same route,” he said.
Mr Indika said DWC officials never clarified the exact locations where elephants crossed rail tracks. “They only say that elephants are present in areas such as Galgamuwa or Palugaswewa,” he said.
“Engine drivers cannot afford to go slow thinking that elephants will cross; we have to consider the lives of passengers, the load in the train and issues regarding railway tracks and signals,” he said. There were instances when actions had been filed against drivers for delaying a train.
More proposals continue to be put up – and shot down.
Former Railways General Manager Mr Ariyaratne said the DWC and forestry departments should clear and manage 100m of land bordering tracks to help engine drivers see elephant herds straying near tracks, but DWC chief Sooribandara said this would not work because it would bring elephants to the area as open plains are the natural habitats of elephants.
Mr Ariyaratne continued: “In Africa, the authorities use serrated boulders and stones alongside the tracks to make it difficult for elephants to step across the tracks. Why can’t our DWC go for such simple actions?”
Mr Ariyaratne’s solution is that a specific government organisation be established to prevent trains colliding with elephants.
| Search for patterns to avoid deaths, says expert | |
| Rather than installing complicated equipment on trains or along tracks the wildlife and railways departments and other stakeholders should learn why elephants crossrail tracks in particular places, the Chairman of the Centre for Conservation and Research, (CCR) Dr Prithiviraj Fernando said. This could be done by monitoring and tracking elephants by using radio collars. Whole herds of elephants could be monitored by putting collars on a few. “If we can identify the areas where elephants are roaming via radio collars we can gather information on their travelling patterns, travelling time frames and learn the areas to which they are heading,” Dr. Fernando said. “With this information in hand we can alert train engine operators about the areas where the elephants are currently roaming and keep updating them on how far they are from the rail tracks.” The drivers could then be advised to drive cautiously for a given distance at an identified area. Dr. Fernando explained that a train travelling in a high speed of 70-80kph would keep moving for a kilometer when brakes were applied. “The wildlife department must identify the areas that are most used by elephants as crossing points and elevate the track or construct an overhead pass for elephants that connects one patch of forestry area to another,” he suggested. |