2,103 elephants counted in Odisha forests during winter census

Bhubaneswar: A total of 2,103 elephants were counted in Odisha forests during the three-day winter census exercise from November 14 to 16, officials said.

According to the census report released by the forest department on Thursday, elephants were spotted in 38 of the 48 forest divisions.

The 2103 elephants include 334 adult tuskers, 12 adult makhnas, 678 adult females, 186 sub-adult tuskers, 4 sub-adult makhnas, 305 sub-adult females, 181 juveniles and 403 calves, the report said.

The last elephant census was carried out in May, wherein 2098 elephants were counted.

During the winter census, the highest number of wild elephants were found in Dhenkanal (291), Keonjhar (160), Athgarh (124), Deogarh (123) and Angul (117).

A significant increase in the elephant population was also observed in divisions such as Rourkela, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Athamallik, Ghumsur North, Kalahandi North, Kalahandi South, Bolangir, and Rairakhol, while a decrease in numbers was noted in regions like Similipal North Wildlife Sanctuary, Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary, Bamra Wildlife Sanctuary, and Rayagada.

The census report also pointed out a noticeable increase in the number of elephants in the Rourkela and Bhawanipatna circles during the winter months compared to the summer census. The forest department suggested that this change may be due to seasonal inter-division and inter-state movement of elephants during the winter months.

The winter census also observed large-scale inter-state movement of elephants from Jharkhand and West Bengal to Odisha, with some elephants also moving from Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

According to the report, 48 elephant deaths were recorded between the summer and winter census periods.