BHUBANESWAR: As many as 2,103 elephants, including 474 male and 1,030 female, are currently inhabiting the Odisha landscape, revealed the All Odisha Elephant Census 2024 (winter) report of the Forest department on Thursday.
The report also highlighted significant inter-state movement of elephants, particularly from Jharkhand and West Bengal, during the cold months that coincide with the harvesting season. Elephant migration from Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh into Odisha was also observed.
The first winter census was conducted for three days from November 14 to 16 across 48 forest and wildlife divisions. The census figures showed no significant change in the total population compared to the summer survey conducted in May, where 2,098 elephants had been recorded. It, however, suggested a shift in the gender ratio of the pachyderms.
The current male-to-female-to-young ratio stands at 1:1.83:1.08, compared to 1:2.17:1.25 in May. “This change is due to an increase in the number of males in the sub-adult category,” stated the report.
As per the latest data, Odisha’s elephant population consists of 334 adult tuskers, 12 adult makhnas, 678 adult females, 186 sub-adult tuskers, four sub-adult makhnas, 181 juveniles, and 403 calves. There has also been a significant rise in elephant numbers in divisions such as Dhenkanal, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Athamallik, Ghumsur North, Kalahandi North, Kalahandi South, Balangir, and Rairakhol.
The highest concentration of elephants was recorded in Dhenkanal division with 291 elephants, followed by Keonjhar (160), Athagarh (124), Deogarh (123), and Angul (117). However, a decline was observed in areas like Similipal North, Satkosia Wildlife, Bamra Wildlife, and Rayagada divisions.
The Forest department attributed these changes to the seasonal inter-division and inter-state movement of elephants during winter.
No elephant presence was found in 13 divisions like Chilika (Wildlife), Ghumsur South, Koraput, Jeypore, Nabarangpur, and Malkangiri in the southern region.
The report also highlighted that Odisha’s elephant population is now well-established with a normal age distribution.
It stated that 48 elephant deaths were reported between the summer census in May and the winter census in November. In light of the rising number of elephant fatalities, forest authorities said the report will help in understanding the exact population and movement patterns of elephants in Odisha - the two critical factors for assessing the human-elephant conflict scenario during the peak harvesting season.