India's First DNA-Based Wild Elephant Census Indicates Big Drop In Population, But...

Last Updated:October 15, 2025, 06:26 IST

Experts have cautioned against a direct comparison with the previous count, as the latest exercise employed a significantly more rigorous and scientifically advanced methodology

Despite the methodological shift, the report’s findings underscore critical conservation challenges facing the species. (Representational image: Canva)

India’s first-ever DNA-based elephant census, the Synchronous All-India Elephant Estimation (SAIEE) 2021-25, has placed the country’s wild elephant population at an estimated 22,446 individuals. This figure represents a notable decline from the 27,312 elephants counted during the previous 2017 estimation, marking a reduction of approximately 18 per cent. However, officials and scientists have cautioned against a direct comparison between the two counts, as the latest exercise employed a significantly more rigorous and scientifically advanced methodology.

The 2017 census largely relied on less precise techniques such as direct counting and the indirect dung-count method in certain regions. In stark contrast, the new estimation, conducted jointly by the Ministry of Environment, Project Elephant, and the Wildlife Institute of India, establishes a new, robust baseline using a three-phase process. The critical Phase Three involved the collection of over 21,000 elephant dung samples from across the country’s elephant landscapes.

Scientists then used DNA fingerprinting and a mark-recapture model to identify 4,065 unique individuals, providing a statistically sound population estimate with a confidence interval. This genetics-based approach, similar to that used for tiger estimation, aims to eliminate the potential for over- or under-estimation inherent in older, visual-sighting methods.

Despite the methodological shift, the report’s findings underscore critical conservation challenges facing the species. Regionally, the Western Ghats remain the largest elephant stronghold with 11,934 animals, followed by the Northeastern Hills and Brahmaputra floodplains with 6,559. Karnataka continues to host the largest state population at 6,013. The decline in numbers is primarily attributed to rapidly shrinking and fragmenting habitats.

The report flags that critical elephant corridors are increasingly disrupted by large-scale developmental projects, unmitigated mining, linear infrastructure like railway lines and highways, and the expansion of commercial plantations. Such habitat loss intensifies human-elephant conflict, which is cited as a major contributor to unnatural elephant deaths from electrocution, train collisions, and retaliatory killings. The SAIEE 2021-25 thus serves as a powerful call for integrated, science-driven conservation strategies to protect India’s elephants and secure the fragile connectivity of their remaining habitats.

News Desk

The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d...Read More

The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d...

Read More

News india India's First DNA-Based Wild Elephant Census Indicates Big Drop In Population, But...

Read More