In the interests of saving people’s crops from raiding elephants, and to save the elephants themselves, one popular technique, widely taught and promoted in permaculture circles is the “Ha-Ha!” fence. The “fence” is actually a trench about 1.5 to 2 metres deep with steep edges to create a barrier that elephants cannot cross (so people with the fence can watch the elephants and say “Ha-ha!” as their crops are safe). In this way, farmers’ crops can be protected without having to harm or kill elephants.
The drawback to this method, however, is that people have to put in considerable effort to dig these trenches out to protect their crops. Now, thanks to the ingenuity of a Thai villager, adopted by the Elephant Conservation Network (ECN) and the Zoological Society of London, there appears to be a simpler, less energy intensive method to deter elephants. The villager had strung old CDs along his fence in an effort to scare off the elephants. It was observed that, particularly during a full moon, “the CDs twisted and shone, mimicking a person with a torch.” It would be a simple matter to rig up a few throwie-type, battery-powered LED lights so that nights without the full moon would also have protection.
This discovery is promising, but a follow up of the success needs to be seen. Elephants are very intelligent animals and could potentially figure out that the threat is merely a trick. But if it does work over the long term, it means a simple and cheap solution to crop-raiding elephants; and that is good news for people and pachyderms.