2. There are three subspecies of Asian elephant which are the Indian, Sumatran and Sri Lankan.
The Indian subspecies has the widest range and accounts for most of the remaining elephants on the
continent.
The elephant herd is led by the oldest and largest female member (known as the matriarch).
Elephants have the longest-known gestational (pregnancy) period of all mammals, lasting up to 680
days (22 months).
Global Population: Estimated 20,000 to 40,000.
Protection Status:
IUCN Red List: Endangered.
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.
CITES: Appendix I
3. Year Nature of estimation Estimated no: of elephants
1993 Wildlife census 4286
1997 Wildlife census 5737
2002 Wildlife census 6965
2005 Elephant census 5135 (dung count)3564 (sample
block count)
2007 Elephant census 6068 (dung count)
2010 Elephant census 6026 (dung count)3520 (sample
block count)
2011 Wildlife census 7384 (dung count)1958 (sample
block count)
2012 Elephant census 6026(dung count)
2017 All India synchronized Elephant
population estimation
3054
4. Methods employed:
Sample block count method:
The elephants in the sample block are counted and the density is estimated.
Total no: of elephants = elephant density x actual extent of elephant habitat
Line transect sampling of dung:
Dung density from line transect sampling
Dung decay rate from dung decay experiments
Defecatin rate
Elephant density = decay rate x dung density
5. All india synchronized elephant
population estimation 2017
Introduction
Wild -elephants in India have been recorded in the following geographical regions of the country:
1) Northem region (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh)
2) East-Central region (Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, southern Bengal and Chhattisgarh)
3) Northeastern region (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, northern Bengal, Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur)
4) Southern region (Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Andaman & Nicobar)
6. As elephants are distributed across landscapes covering different states in India, it is important to
carry out synchronized elephant population estimation within each of the four geographical
regions in order to reduce errors in estimation that may arise from significant movement of
elephants across state boundaries.
7. Officials from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chief Wildlife Wardens
from various states, and scientists working on elephant biology agreed that a uniform set of
four activities would be undertaken for the 2017 estimation. These were the following:
8. Developing an elephant distribution map with the help of geospatial maps from
state forest departments.
Estimating the elephant population density (and size through extrapolation to the
elephant distribution area) and statistical confidence limits using a direct count
method.
Estimating elephant population density using an indirect dung count method
according to the prescribed standards under the MIKE programme.
Characterizing elephant population structure and assessing its demography.
9. The census operations were conducted in the southern region during the following period: 16 th to
19th May 2017
10. State Elephant density/sq.km Elephant distribution
area(sq.km)
Elephant poulation
Kerala 0.32 9675 3054
As per the estimation(2017), Karnataka has the highest number of elephants (6,049), followed by
Assam (5,719) and Kerala (3,054).(Total number of elephants in the country: 23,712)
11. According to recent reports, the forest department has decided to conduct an all
kerala elephant population estimation in May. The estimation will be based on
the dung count method.
