On a November night in Hosur last year, a herd of elephants, mothers and their calves, moved through the forest, their bodies glowing against the blackness. The young ones stayed close, almost tucked into the shadows of the adults, as if the night itself was something to be crossed carefully.

From a distance, forest officials watched.

The video came from a thermal-imaging drone deployed in Tamil Nadu’s Hosur Forest Division, capturing a moment that would otherwise have passed unseen: a family on the move, and a system learning, finally, to let them pass safely.

Every year large elephant herds migrate in Hosur from the adjoining Bannerghatta National Park and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary often crossing into the forest agriculture interface of Jawlagiri and Denkanikottai leading to conflict. This is truly one of the toughest seasons for… pic.twitter.com/5BtbmMfs1Y — Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) November 25, 2025

Every year large elephant herds migrate in Hosur from the adjoining Bannerghatta National Park and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary often crossing into the forest agriculture interface of Jawlagiri and Denkanikottai leading to conflict. This is truly one of the toughest seasons for… pic.twitter.com/5BtbmMfs1Y

Seeing what we couldn’t before

At its simplest, a thermal camera does what the human eye........

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