Hopes new technology can reduce human and animal deaths

The Indian state of Assam has launched a mobile phone app aimed at reducing deaths caused by wild elephants.

The Haati app will warn people of approaching elephant herds so they can stay away.

Assam is home to one of the largest elephant populations in India and has had a large number of elephant and human deaths due to interactions between them.

Conservationists say elephants are becoming more aggressive in Assam as their habitat is shrinking and even their traditional natural corridors are being encroached upon.

Up to 1,701 people have been killed by elephants. in India from 2020 to 2024, according to official data cited by the Hindustan Times in March.

The app launched in Assam was developed by Aaranyak, a biodiversity organization in northeast India.

In addition, the law includes a form allowing victims and their relatives to request compensation from local authorities in case of injury or death due to animal attacks.

Aaranyak has also published a handbook on solar fences that can deter elephants.

According to wildlife charity WWF, There are fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants left in the wild.The group estimates that half a million families in India are affected by crop-destroying elephants each year.