Protect elephants for a healthier ecosystem
India's elephant population has fallen by 17.8 percent since 2017, according to the latest report from the Wildlife Institute of India. The total count now stands at 22,446—a sobering reminder that the country’s most iconic species is under mounting pressure. The Western Ghats, India’s largest elephant habitat, recorded 11,934 elephants, down slightly from 11,960 in 2017. But the drop in the Northeast Hills and Brahmaputra plains—from 10,139 to 6,559—is alarming. The Shivalik Hills saw a marginal decline, while Central India and the Eastern Ghats recorded a sharp fall from 3,128 to 1,891.
The latest census, which began in 2021, used DNA-based mark-recapture, a more scientific and precise method that identifies individual elephants through their biological samples. While this could partly explain the statistical drop, it does not alter the grim reality: elephant habitats are shrinking, and threats are multiplying. Deforestation, encroachment, expanding infrastructure, and human-elephant conflicts are steadily eroding the species’ space to live and roam. Rail and road networks now crisscross traditional corridors, leading to frequent and often fatal collisions. Electrocutions, poaching, and diseases transmitted through close human contact add to the growing list of dangers.
India cannot afford complacency. The new census provides a more accurate baseline for the years ahead, but the response must go beyond data collection. The Centre and the states must treat this as an environmental emergency. Speed restrictions along known elephant corridors, seismic sensors to detect herds, and safe underpasses are urgently needed. Forest-dwelling communities should be incentivised to assist forest personnel and act as the first line of defence against poachers and encroachers. Most crucially, elephant corridors must be legally protected and restored. Conservation cannot depend on ad hoc projects; it needs long-term planning, steady funding, and unwavering political will.
The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), classified as endangered, is not merely a flagship species—it is an ecosystem engineer. Elephants shape forests, disperse seeds, create waterholes, and help sustain biodiversity. Their disappearance would weaken entire ecosystems and diminish the planet’s capacity to absorb carbon. Saving India’s elephants is not just about preserving wildlife—it is about safeguarding the very balance of nature that sustains us. A country that cannot protect its elephants risks losing far more than a symbol of its wild heritage; it risks losing the health of its land, its forests, and its future.
