India’s wild elephant population has been estimated at 22,446, lower than the 2017 figure of 27,312, according to the country’s first-ever DNA-based count.

Government Stance On Declining Numbers

• Methodological Reset: The government clarified that the apparent decline should not be seen as an actual drop in numbers.
  • The current figure of 22,446 is treated as a “fresh baseline” because of a methodological reset in the counting process.

Challenges with Old Counting Methods

• Forest Officials on Observational Towers: Forest staff earlier counted elephants manually from platforms, often leading to double counting due to herd movement.
• Water Hole Observation: Officials counted elephants visiting water bodies, but repetitive sightings caused inflated numbers.
• Dung Decay Rate Estimate: Estimates based on dung decay rates were imprecise and failed to provide accurate population data.

Introduction of the New Scientific Method

• Grid-Based Mapping: Forests are now divided into smaller grids, ensuring comprehensive coverage.
• DNA Profiling: Elephant dung samples are collected from these grids for DNA analysis.
  • As every elephant’s DNA is unique, this method eliminates double counting and enables individual identification.
  • It allows for precise population monitoring and better habitat tracking.

Key Points from All-India Synchronous Elephant Estimation (SAIEE) 2025

• Regions with Stable Populations:
  • Western Ghats and parts of Northeast India: Populations remain stable in these regions.
  • Karnataka: It hosts the highest number of elephants, followed by Assam.
  • Kerala: It has prioritized corridor protection to facilitate safe elephant movement.
• Regions Showing Major Decline:
  • Jharkhand: Experienced a 68% decline in elephant numbers.
  • Odisha: Recorded a 54% decline, among the sharpest nationwide.
  • Central India (Madhya Pradesh) and Eastern Ghats (Andhra Pradesh, Odisha) also show worrying trends.
• Underlying Causes: High levels of mining, deforestation, and industrial expansion have led to habitat loss in these regions.

Ecological Role of Elephant 

• Elephants as ‘Engineers of the Forest’: Elephants are keystone species that shape ecosystems.
  • By eating and trampling vegetation, they create forest pathways and their dung disperses seeds, promoting regeneration.
  • If elephants decline, entire forest ecosystems are at risk.

Core Conflict

• Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC):
  • Elephants are wide-ranging and migratory, requiring large contiguous forest areas.
  • Expansion of agriculture, highways, and railways has fragmented their routes, triggering conflicts.
• Memory and Traditional Routes:
  • Elephants have strong memories, recalling migratory paths up to 15 years old.
  • They continue following these paths despite new obstacles like rail lines or roads, causing frequent accidents and deaths, especially in Odisha and West Bengal.
• Encroachment and Crop Raids:
  • Encroachment of elephant corridors by farms or buildings forces elephants into villages.
  • This leads to crop destruction, property loss, and sometimes retaliatory killings of elephants through electrocution or poisoning

Way Forward

• Integrated Development Planning: Every new project—be it a highway, dam, or industrial site—must assess elephant movement impacts. 
  • The Development and conservation should go hand in hand, ensuring ecological connectivity.
• Corridor Management: Elephant corridors (e.g., Kaziranga–Karbi Anglong corridor) must be legally protected and kept free from encroachment.
  • Construction of eco-bridges, underpasses, and culverts over highways facilitates safe animal passage.
• Innovative Natural Deterrents
  • Bee Fencing: Elephants fear bees; installing bee boxes around farmlands acts as a natural deterrent, as seen in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
  • Chilli Fencing: Elephants dislike the pungent scent of chilies. Chilli-coated ropes or burning chili smoke effectively discourage elephant entry, especially in Karnataka and Assam.
• Early Warning Systems (EWS): Implement real-time tracking of elephant herds using GPS or sensors.
  • The farmers should be alerted in advance so they can activate deterrents or stay indoors, reducing loss of life and crops.

Conclusion

• India is home to 60% of the world’s Asian elephants, making their protection a global imperative.
• The 2025 census must be viewed not merely as a count but as a wake-up call for stronger conservation action.
• Regardless of methodological changes, the focus must shift to habitat integrity, corridor connectivity, and coexistence.

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