Sound Cannon

Why is this Beneficial to our Conservation Initiatives ?

The Sound Cannon will replace the habitual use of firecrackers, which should only be used only in the most severe of circumstances. Firecrackers should be a near-last line of defense, as over the longer term they have increased the elephant’s hatred toward humans.

Technology Description, Purpose: This elephant deterrence device, consists of a plastic tube, simple spark ignitor, and an inlet for an aerosol spray. It is intended to replace the more dangerous firecrackers often provided by government officials to the farmers in both the Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka.  Unfortunately, the black powder is sometimes removed from the firecrackers and used in the fabrication of Hakka Pattas (small explosive devices) which poachers use to kill small game. Elephants are often the collateral damage of the poachers’ hunt, as they unwittingly chew on the small back powder laden food ball, which will explode in their mouths. The result is a destroyed mouth cavity and eventual death by starvation or dehydration.

Sound Cannons are becoming popular in law enforcement to disperse crowds.

History: Sound cannon systems are sometimes deployed at airports to sonically deter birds from residing in the paths of aircrafts. Our crew located a farmer a remote village near Bandipur National Park in India who has had success with this device.

Design: Our sound cannon consists of 12 inches of 6” diameter PVC pipe, coupled to an 18” length of 1.5 inch diameter pipe (where the boom is generated.  There is an igniter (bbq lighter) imbedded in the larger section of pipe which will ignite an aerosol vapor which is sprayed into the device. To generate, or build up the pressure, for the “boom,” requires that a temporary plug is emplaced near the end of the small pipe section. Usually just two pages of newspaper cupped over the end of the pipe is sufficient. The exploding vapor will burst through the paper, created a deep resonate sound. Similar devices are now popular as homebuilt as potato cannons