Damak students make elephant-repellant gun

By Bishnu Prasad Pokharel,Damak, Mar. 4: Students of Siddharth Boarding School in Damak have developed an elephant repellant gun to effectively drive away elephants and other wild animals, as the area is highly affected by wildlife, particularly elephants.

At a time when traditional methods such as using firewood and banging tin to chase away wild elephants have proven ineffective, a group of students in Jhapa have invented the new tool to drive away elephants.   

Students studying in grade 11, including Pritam Parsi, Bharat Mainali and Aditya Giri have developed the elephant repellant gun. They said that the gun could be crafted using readily available materials without causing harm to the environment and is less inexpensive compared to other alternatives.

It can be made using 2 PVC pipes of different diameters. Parsi explained that wild animals like elephants are frightened by it when burnt with calcium carbide and water. When fired through a gun made by combining calcium carbide and water, it would produce a loud sound but would not harm wild animals, and pose no other risks. Also, calcium carbide is readily available as it is commonly used in welding and various other tasks.

Calcium carbide is a chemical compound, and when calcium carbide reacts with water, it produces acetylene gas, which is then collected in a small compartment of the bottle they constructed. When the compartment is pressed, it releases the gas with a loud sound. According to the students, this method can effectively drive away any wild animal.

According to Rex Shrestha, the proprietor of Siddharth Boarding School, the students designed the gun capable of repelling elephants and conducted a demonstration. He said that despite the loud sound, there was no external damage caused.

He said that the elephants have posed a risk to people who attempt to drive them away being close to the animals. He added that the students independently studied and crafted the repelling gun, utilising local resources.