Bhubaneswar, Nov 20: The three-day elephant census in Odisha has concluded, and the population of elephants has marginally decreased in 2024, as confirmed by the Forest Department. The census indicates that 40 elephants reside in the Chandaka-Tampara Elephant Sanctuary.
This year’s count involved 16 units across the sanctuary, including seven established teams operating within the forest. Each unit comprised four personnel, totaling 108 forest workers conducting the census. The data revealed a slight decrease in the elephant population; the last census in May reported 45 elephants in the area, while this count shows a decline to 40.
Within the sanctuary, the highest number of elephants was found in Bhubaneswar’s Bharatpur, with 16, followed by the Chandaka range with 14, the Haladia range, and the Dampada range with five each. Among the 40 elephants counted, there are 15 females, 8 tuskers, 14 juveniles, and 3 calves.
Worth mentioning, the sanctuary was home to 182 elephants in 1983, so it was designated as an elephant reserve by the then Chief Minister Janaki Ballav Patnaik. However, rapid urbanization, the establishment of factories near forest boundaries, the construction of national highways through forest areas, and increased human activity within the forest have contributed to the division of elephant habitats. As a result, elephants are increasingly migrating to other forests.
