This is Scientific Americans 60 Second Science.

I'm Steve Mursky.

Got a minute?

I have now worked in seven states across India

and we have looked at human wildlife interactions,

particularly at human wildlife conflict,

ranging from crop loss, livestock predation,

human death, human injury and property damage.

Crithy Carinth, a Wildlife Conservation Society researcher,

also affiliated with India's Center for Wildlife Studies

and Duke University in the US.

Fortunately, most of the losses are crop loss and to a much lower extent livestock predation

property damage human injury and death occur.

The policies and procedures for compensation varies hugely among states in India,

but there is a compensation process in most states. What we also found is that less than 30% of affected people are filing.

They're very frustrated with the bureaucracy.

So in 2013, I thought of an idea because I traveled to hundreds of villages across India for my research projects and we realized that everybody had access to cell phones.

It was very simple for people to call and report an incident.

So with my collaborator, Nicklewell-Pooner, in 2013 we set up a web portal and a technology platform that

integrates a toll-free number with the ability to address calls that came in.

So the idea is very simple. Anybody experiencing a conflict incident calls into the toll fee number and our field

coordinator assigns our field agents to go and evaluate the problem. Once the

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