Winter census report of elephants in Odisha to be released on November 27

The detailed report of the elephant estimation in Odisha undertaken by the Forest Department during winter will be released on November 27, informed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) (Wildlife) Susanta Nanda said on Tuesday.

According to Nanda, reports received from different forest divisions are currently being reviewed. Moreover, field data is being matched and GPS coordination is made to ensure that a single elephant will not be counted twice.

Nanda further informed that the elephants that were inside the forest during estimation in summer have headed towards human habitats. The major highlight of the census will be the profiling of each herd and lone tuskers.

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“The winter count of the pachyderms in the State has been completed. All kinds of information in this regard are being collected and a detailed report will be ready by tomorrow. After the release of the report, information about the number of elephants that have migrated from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal could be known,” said PCCF Susanta Nanda.

The State government carried out this estimation during winter as it coincides with the migration of elephants from adjoining states in the Kharif harvesting season.

As per the last census report, there were 2098 elephants in 38 forest divisions in Odisha while their number was 1976 in 2017. The report mentioned that 313 adult tuskers, 13 adult makhna, 748 adult females, 148 sub-adult males, 282 sub-adult females, 209 juveniles and 385 calves are in 38 divisions of the State.