<p>Mysuru: Karnataka Forest Department has launched first-of-its-kind Elephant Anti-Depredation Dog Squad (EaDDS) to strengthen human-elephant conflict mitigation, which remains one of the biggest wildlife management challenges.</p><p>For the first time, the dog of this EaDDS trained in Bannerghatta National Park was deployed to track a wild elephant during a rescue operation in Hassan wildlife division on Saturday. They plan to use EaDDS in other parts of the State too, to detect, help safely drive elephants away from farmlands and human settlements, minimise crop loss, prevent human and elephant casualties, and promote coexistence according to APCCF (Project Elephant) Manoj Rajan.</p><p>They rescued about 20 year old male tusker which had killed Rajashetty on April 12, in Malasaavara forest area in Belur range of Belur taluk, Hassan district. It was relocated to Dubaare Elephant camp. </p>.Modern technology is used to curb man-animal conflict in Karnataka: Eshwar Khandre.<p>DCF Hassan division Saurabh Kumar informed this. </p><p>More than 50 personnel of Elephant Task Force and other officials led by DCF Hassan division Saurabh Kumar had taken up the operation. Elephants Harsha, Dhananjaya, Aiyappa, Srirama from Dubaare Elephant camp and Bheema, Srikanta from Matthigodu camp were also used for the operation. As always they used technologies like drone and foot walk/patrol to track the elephant during the operation. With the intervention of APCCF Manoj Rajan in a tough terrain for about 1 to 1.5 kms, they deployed the dog of EaDDS to track the wild tusker and rescue it. </p><p>APCCF Manoj Rajan, who has introduced this initiative, recalled that, during his probationary period he had used a dog squad for the first time in the forest department to tackle Timber smuggling in 2002. </p><p>Manoj Rajan explained, "The Elephant Anti-Depredation Dog Squad (EaDDS) is the first dedicated canine-based elephant detection and mitigation programme in India and across Asia and an unique conservation initiative being supported by the Karnataka Forest Department. While technology such as drones, camera traps, GPS collars, and command centres are increasingly used in conservation, the use of trained dogs for live elephant scent detection and tracking is an unique innovation in field operations, he said </p><p>He added, "Elephants often move through agricultural fields, villages, and peri-urban landscapes, leading to crop damage, risk to human life, injury or death of elephants, fear and stress among local communities, and pressure on frontline staff. EaDDS is designed to reduce these risks through early detection, faster intervention. Dogs possess extraordinary olfactory abilities far beyond human capacity. They can detect fresh scent trails quickly, work in low-visibility terrain, and cover difficult landscapes efficiently. This makes them highly valuable in forest-edge areas, crop fields, scrublands, and fragmented habitats where elephants often move undetected."</p><p>Manoj Rajan added, "The initiative has been developed by Karnataka Forest Department in collaboration with A Rocha India, a conservation group. EaDDS concept was formally introduced in 2024-25 in the Bannerghatta National Park landscape as a pilot intervention to address rising human–elephant conflict in one of the most challenging fragmented habitats near Bengaluru. The trained dogs,primarily Belgian Malinois, use their advanced scenting ability to detect fresh elephant presence. The operational process includes, detecting live or fresh elephant scent in fields or settlements, tracking the elephant’s movement path; halting silently around 100–150 metres away from the elephant, giving a trained 'sit indication' to handlers; guiding forest teams to the correct direction of elephant movement; allowing the response team to strategically guide the elephant back to safer habitat." </p><p>The dog squad is also meant to assist rapid location of elephants in dense vegetation, supporting capture or rescue operations, assisting night patrols, strengthening early warning systems, enhancing officer and staff safety, improving efficiency of field operations</p><p>Avinash Krishnan, director of A Rocha India, informed that Dog Issa of EaDDS, which was used in this rescue operation in Hassan district, has been trained for eight months in Bannerghatta. Currently, yet another dog-Lyka is undergoing training from the past seven months. A Rocha procures a puppy, trains it and its handler for EaDDS and assists in using it. </p>
<p>Mysuru: Karnataka Forest Department has launched first-of-its-kind Elephant Anti-Depredation Dog Squad (EaDDS) to strengthen human-elephant conflict mitigation, which remains one of the biggest wildlife management challenges.</p><p>For the first time, the dog of this EaDDS trained in Bannerghatta National Park was deployed to track a wild elephant during a rescue operation in Hassan wildlife division on Saturday. They plan to use EaDDS in other parts of the State too, to detect, help safely drive elephants away from farmlands and human settlements, minimise crop loss, prevent human and elephant casualties, and promote coexistence according to APCCF (Project Elephant) Manoj Rajan.</p><p>They rescued about 20 year old male tusker which had killed Rajashetty on April 12, in Malasaavara forest area in Belur range of Belur taluk, Hassan district. It was relocated to Dubaare Elephant camp. </p>.Modern technology is used to curb man-animal conflict in Karnataka: Eshwar Khandre.<p>DCF Hassan division Saurabh Kumar informed this. </p><p>More than 50 personnel of Elephant Task Force and other officials led by DCF Hassan division Saurabh Kumar had taken up the operation. Elephants Harsha, Dhananjaya, Aiyappa, Srirama from Dubaare Elephant camp and Bheema, Srikanta from Matthigodu camp were also used for the operation. As always they used technologies like drone and foot walk/patrol to track the elephant during the operation. With the intervention of APCCF Manoj Rajan in a tough terrain for about 1 to 1.5 kms, they deployed the dog of EaDDS to track the wild tusker and rescue it. </p><p>APCCF Manoj Rajan, who has introduced this initiative, recalled that, during his probationary period he had used a dog squad for the first time in the forest department to tackle Timber smuggling in 2002. </p><p>Manoj Rajan explained, "The Elephant Anti-Depredation Dog Squad (EaDDS) is the first dedicated canine-based elephant detection and mitigation programme in India and across Asia and an unique conservation initiative being supported by the Karnataka Forest Department. While technology such as drones, camera traps, GPS collars, and command centres are increasingly used in conservation, the use of trained dogs for live elephant scent detection and tracking is an unique innovation in field operations, he said </p><p>He added, "Elephants often move through agricultural fields, villages, and peri-urban landscapes, leading to crop damage, risk to human life, injury or death of elephants, fear and stress among local communities, and pressure on frontline staff. EaDDS is designed to reduce these risks through early detection, faster intervention. Dogs possess extraordinary olfactory abilities far beyond human capacity. They can detect fresh scent trails quickly, work in low-visibility terrain, and cover difficult landscapes efficiently. This makes them highly valuable in forest-edge areas, crop fields, scrublands, and fragmented habitats where elephants often move undetected."</p><p>Manoj Rajan added, "The initiative has been developed by Karnataka Forest Department in collaboration with A Rocha India, a conservation group. EaDDS concept was formally introduced in 2024-25 in the Bannerghatta National Park landscape as a pilot intervention to address rising human–elephant conflict in one of the most challenging fragmented habitats near Bengaluru. The trained dogs,primarily Belgian Malinois, use their advanced scenting ability to detect fresh elephant presence. The operational process includes, detecting live or fresh elephant scent in fields or settlements, tracking the elephant’s movement path; halting silently around 100–150 metres away from the elephant, giving a trained 'sit indication' to handlers; guiding forest teams to the correct direction of elephant movement; allowing the response team to strategically guide the elephant back to safer habitat." </p><p>The dog squad is also meant to assist rapid location of elephants in dense vegetation, supporting capture or rescue operations, assisting night patrols, strengthening early warning systems, enhancing officer and staff safety, improving efficiency of field operations</p><p>Avinash Krishnan, director of A Rocha India, informed that Dog Issa of EaDDS, which was used in this rescue operation in Hassan district, has been trained for eight months in Bannerghatta. Currently, yet another dog-Lyka is undergoing training from the past seven months. A Rocha procures a puppy, trains it and its handler for EaDDS and assists in using it. </p>