CHENNAI: The state’s wild elephant population has recorded a modest yet steady increase, with the latest Synchronized Elephant Population Estimation (SEPE) 2025 recording 3,170 elephants, up from 3,063 last year.
The state’s elephant population density is estimated at 0.35 to 0.37 elephants per square kilometre, consistent with earlier surveys conducted in 2010, 2017, 2023, and 2024.
According to the report, the Nilgiris and Coimbatore elephant reserves continue to support the highest densities in the state. Within these reserves, six forest divisions — Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (Udhagai and Masinagudi ranges), Gudalur, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (Hassanur and Sathyamangalam ranges), Hosur, and Coimbatore — harbour a substantial proportion of the population. Together, these contiguous habitats sustain an estimated 2,450 elephants, accounting for 70-80% of Tamil Nadu’s total population.
This population forms part of the Nilgiri-Eastern Ghats landscape, one of the largest contiguous elephant ranges in Asia, extending into neighbouring Karnataka and Kerala.
The report notes that minor fluctuations in elephant numbers between years are expected, as elephants migrate across states in response to seasonal variations in rain, water, and fodder availability.
A key methodological aspect highlighted in the report concerns the dung decay rate, a critical factor in estimating elephant density through the indirect dung-count method.
The study cautions that applying a single decay rate (0.0097 dung piles/day) derived from Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary to all forest divisions may introduce errors due to regional and seasonal variations. It recommends division-wise dung decay studies to improve accuracy in future estimates.
The demographic analysis of the elephant population shows a healthy, adult-dominated structure, with 44% of individuals being adults, consistent with the species’ long lifespan and slow reproductive rate. The sex ratio stands at 1 male to 1.77 females, comparable to figures from Kerala and Karnataka. This is a notable improvement from earlier decades, when selective poaching of tuskers had led to a severely skewed ratio, said chief wildlife warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra.
However, variations in sex ratios across divisions persist, likely influenced by habitat quality, food availability, and the intensity of human-elephant conflict. Differences observed between the 2024 and 2025 estimates may also reflect limited survey duration, seasonal biases, and detection variability between sexes. The report recommends long-term monitoring using individual identification methods to validate sex ratio data and gain a deeper understanding of demographic trends.
Supriya Sahu, additional chief secretary, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, said the government has taken enormous efforts in the area of elephant conservation, and the results are there for everyone to see. “We are now focusing on improving the elephant habitat quality, for which the work has already commenced, connecting the fragmented corridors and mitigating the conflict. We plan to launch an elephant alliance and a dedicated website where a centralised database of all key endangered species will be maintained.”
The survey also reveals that most herds in Tamil Nadu comprise small groups, aligning with ecological patterns observed across Asian elephant ranges. Dense forests and fragmented habitats tend to support smaller, family-based groups, while frequent human-elephant interactions often disrupt larger social units, experts said.
