An Indian inventor has created a device to stop rampaging elephants in their tracks, amid concern about human injuries and deaths when they run amok, his company said last week.
Zachariah Mathew’s Violent Elephant Control Gear has been designed to provide a humane alternative to sedating the animals, which are often used in religious festivals and are revered in Hinduism.
“During these festivals sometimes the animal is not well and might not be feeling comfortable but he can’t express his feelings to you, so he will react,” said James George, from Mathew’s firm Senzo Engineering, in Mumbai.
“People close by fire sedative shots. They don’t want to kill the animal but just bring it under control. Due to panic and fear, instead of one or two shots, they fire three, four, five, six and the animal gets an overdose.”
Mathew’s device involves attaching a fibreglass box weighing six to eight kilograms to one of the elephant’s back legs.
At the first sign of the animal turning violent, the mahout or elephant driver can activate the battery-operated device by remote control, sending a nylon belt contained inside to wrap around the tusker’s other hind leg.
“The elephant is a very clever animal. He knows he won’t be able to move. He won’t fall at a great speed that may damage his leg. There’s no problem,” George, the firm’s marketing manager, told AFP.
Trials have been conducted successfully in Mathew’s home state of Kerala, in south India, where elephants are also used in agriculture, said George, expressing hope the device will be sold across India and the world.
George said the cost of the device is yet to be finalized, although reports have suggested it will retail for about 25,000 rupees (US$540).
(AFP)
印度某公司上週表示，該公司一名發明家已設計出一款裝置，可以讓抓狂亂衝的大象止步，減少人類受傷或喪生的機率。
薩迦利亞．馬修發明的「狂暴大象控制器」，為制服大象提供了人道的替代方案；大象經常出現在印度教的宗教節慶上，且相當受到尊敬。
馬修服務的「聖佐工程」公司位於孟買，同事詹姆士．喬治說：「在這些宗教慶典期間，有時候大象的狀況不好，可能覺得不舒服，但因沒辦法向人類表達感覺，所以只好作出反應。」
「旁邊的人會向牠射鎮靜針，他們並不想殺死大象，只是要制服牠而已。因為驚慌又害怕，他們往往不只射一、兩針，而是射了三、四、五、六針，造成大象用藥過量。」
馬修的發明則是將一個重六到八公斤的玻璃纖維盒子綁在大象的一隻後腿上。
大象一出現情緒猛烈的跡象時，象夫就可以用遙控器啟動這個由電池供電的裝置，送出裝置內的尼龍束帶，綁住象的另一隻後腿。
該公司的行銷經理喬治對法新社說：「大象是很聰明的動物。牠知道牠動彈不得。這樣就不會在高速衝撞下跌倒，弄傷自己的腿。所以沒有問題。」
喬治說，馬修居住的印度南部喀拉拉邦已開始試用，成效顯著；該邦的大象從事農耕用途。他也說希望該裝置能在印度各地和全世界熱賣。
喬治說，該裝置的售價還未定案，但有報導認為，屆時零售價將是兩萬五千盧比（五百四十美元）左右。
（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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