Trains are an environmentally friendly mode of transport, emitting much less CO2 than cars and planes. But for elephants they can be deadly. AI is helping to change that.
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00:00Red alert! Elephants on the track.
00:05Now, speed is of the essence.
00:07The control room staff alert the nearest station master
00:10and he, in turn, passes on the message to the train driver.
00:14I'm calling from the forest control room.
00:17An elephant has been spotted crossing near B10.
00:21If people act fast enough, the train driver can slow down
00:25and let the elephants cross the tracks at their own pace.
00:30We are in Madhukarai forest near Coimbatore, in the west of Tamil Nadu.
00:35Every day, more than 200 trains travel through the dense woodland
00:38which is also home to numerous elephants.
00:41Just a few years ago, creatures were regularly knocked down
00:45and killed in train collisions.
00:51About two and a half years back, there was a very tragic incident
00:56when a baby elephant was standing on the track
00:59and the herd tried to protect the baby elephant
01:02and three elephants died after colliding with the speedy train.
01:06So, I think that was a turning point for all of us.
01:09And then we decided that this cannot go on forever.
01:13Something needs to be done.
01:15And we also were very certain that only technology option
01:20will be the best option because human intervention has several limitations.
01:25The solution? Cameras mounted along the rail line.
01:29In February 2024, forestry authorities in Tamil Nadu launched the EI project.
01:35With the help of thermal imaging and artificial intelligence,
01:38they can detect the movements of elephants even when they are a bit deeper in the forest.
01:43The advantage of using artificial intelligence is that it learns over a period of time.
01:50It mimics the way you think.
01:52You have the option of just having the data and then manually analyzing it.
01:56Or you have the data and somebody is not only analyzing it,
02:00giving you the feedback, enabling you to act upon the data
02:04and also predicting, you know, how the future will be.
02:09So, that is something which makes this as a game changer.
02:13If artificial intelligence predicts that the elephants will continue to move towards the train tracks,
02:18the team steps in.
02:20Even two days ago, we successfully helped six elephants cross the railway track.
02:26Track watchers promptly drove the elephants away from the railway track.
02:30Local youth are employed to work in the control room and along the railway line.
02:35They are a real boon to the project.
02:38Young tribal people who have been working in this project and elsewhere also,
02:44I would call them as they are the heartbeats of our jungles.
02:47Taking them on board is the best thing that we can do.
02:52Because they are the people who know every single point in the jungle where the elephants are,
03:01where they will go, what season they will migrate.
03:04Provided that they are given a little bit of a training.
03:08job opportunities for young people in the region and safety for the elephants in the forest.
03:18Since the EI project was set up, not a single elephant has been hit by a train.
03:24.