Syllabus:

GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment 

Context: The All-India Synchronous Elephant Estimation (SAIEE) 2025 puts India's elephant population between 18,255 and 26,645, with an average of 22,446. 

More on the News

• The 2025 exercise, carried out jointly by the Environment Ministry, Project Elephant and the Wildlife Institute of India, establishes a new scientific baseline for future monitoring and conservation planning.

• The government released the long-delayed report nearly four years after the survey began in 2021.

Key Findings 

• India's wild elephant population has been estimated at 22,446, lower than the 2017 figure of 27,312, according to the country's first-ever DNA-based count.

• Elephant population across regions:

• Western Ghats: 11,934 
• North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra floodplains: 6,559
• Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plains: 2,062
• Central India and Eastern Ghats: 1,891

• Elephant across various states:  

• Karnataka: 6,013
• Assam: 4,159
• Tamil Nadu: 3,136
• Kerala: 2,785
• Uttarakhand: 1,792
• Odisha: 912

Methodology of SAIEEE 2025 

• The latest exercise used a tiger-estimation-style method, dividing forested areas in 20 states into small blocks to record elephant signs, vegetation, other wildlife, and human activity.

• India’s forests were divided into 100 square km cells, further subdivided into 25 square km and 4 square km grids, which is a design borrowed from the tiger estimation program used since 2006.

• The new count used a three-phase process combining ground surveys, satellite-based mapping and genetic analysis.

• In the first phase, forest teams used the M-Stripes app to record elephant presence during extensive foot surveys.
• The second phase assessed habitat quality and human footprint using satellite data. 
• The third phase involved DNA extraction from dung to identify 4,065 unique elephants, with scientists using the mark-recapture model to estimate the overall population.

• Using over 20,000 dung samples, scientists identified 4,065 unique elephants across major landscapes.

• Since elephants lack unique markings, DNA from dung helps researchers identify individuals and estimate population size.

Threats Across Elephant Habitats

• The report highlights significant threats to elephant habitats, including fragmentation caused by expanding coffee and tea plantations, invasive species, fencing, and rapid development in the Western Ghats.

• Habitat loss and corridor disruption are notable in the Western Ghats, Shivalik Hills, and Brahmaputra plains due to railways, roads, power projects, encroachments, and land-use changes.

• Mining is a major threat in Central India, alongside invasive plants, human disturbances, and conflicts with local communities, necessitating cooperative conservation efforts.

Sources:
The Hindu 
Indian Express