New Delhi The government plans to conduct DNA profiling of elephants in 2022 as part of the elephant census, as the last count revealed potentially incorrect numbers.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is also conducting an assessment of the elephant and tiger population for the first time. Census results are expected by July next year.
DNA profiling of elephants will be done to develop a scientific method of population estimation. All DNA samples will be tested twice to ensure accuracy.
The census will be conducted in three phases. First, a ground survey will be conducted for signs of unearthed elephants including broken branches, footprints and dung. The results of DNA analysis of camera traps and dung samples will be analyzed. A ministry official said the numbers would eventually be extrapolated to give a range for each zone.
The elephants will be identified for their herd, health and nutrition level, and body characteristics such as ear and tooth size.
In the past, the methods of counting elephants were not scientific. They were outnumbered by the actual census. According to the last census conducted in 2017, there were over 27,000 elephants in India.
According to ministry data, Karnataka has the highest number of elephants (6,049), followed by Assam (5,719) and Kerala (3,054). The total figures are lower than the previous census estimate from 2012 (between 29,391 and 30,711).
Experts believe that the comparison cannot be made as different states used different techniques in the 2012 Census. The effort was not synchronized and therefore mistakes or repetitions could have resulted in overestimation.
In recent years, there has been an increase in human-animal conflict. Elephants move from place to place and have been seen moving from forests to fields and across state borders.
This has caused damage to crops and loss of life and property.
According to MoEFCC, 87 elephants and 359 people died due to human-elephant conflict in 2020. The number in 2019-20 stood at 19 elephants, though the human death was more than 585.
Asian elephants are listed as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species.
Most of the range states except India have lost their viable elephant populations due to loss of habitat and poaching. Asian elephants were found in the Indian subcontinent along the Iranian coast in West Asia, eastward into Southeast Asia and China, covering distances of more than nine million km.
The population size estimates made in 2018 showed a population of 48,323–51,680 wild Asian elephants. More than 60% of the population is in India.
A query sent to the Environment Ministry on May 27 did not elicit any response on Sunday.