Are you wanting a system which sets off an alarm to scare off the elephants or a system which alerts locals that elephants have moved into the area?

This might be a silly question, but why do you need a camera trap for either purpose - unless you want a record of specific individuals?

If the aim is to provide an alarm to scare off elephants then a system that uses a simple motion sensor wired to an alarm would do the same thing at a much lower cost without the risk of damage or theft that all camera traps suffer from.

If the aim is to alert locals then the Indian Nature Conservation Foundations Elephant Early Warning System is worth exploring http://ncf-india.org/projects/in-the-elephant-hills 

Hi James,

Thanks for sharing information on NCF's early warning system. NCF's tool is great and works well for the context in Valparai where it's being used. We work closely with them as well. As you are aware, the context for each conflict situation is different. These are open plantation areas where elephants can be seen if present in any patch, while in other areas, it's harder to tell when they come out of forested protected areas and into adjacent habitation in order to warn people. And for a number of the landscapes where we work, that particular approach may not be as effective, we are trying to test other forms of early detection. Do let us know if you learn of any results from camera-trapping early warning systems as well using a tool that could potentially serve multiple purposes. Many thanks.

Nilanga