ELEPHANT CENSUS - ENVIRONMENT
News: Elephant population estimation to be held from May 17
What is in the news?
●
The synchronized elephant
population estimation will be conducted from May 17 to 19 in the forest areas
of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
Key takeaways:
●
In the runup to the
population estimation, all those involved will be given formal training by
experts, according to the Forest Department.
●
A manual has been
prepared and sent to all the divisions on the procedures to be followed for the
estimation, which will be conducted through different methods on each day.
Elephant survey:
●
Government takes elephant
surveys once every four years.
●
According to the recent
elephant survey, there are 29000
elephants in India which account for 60%
of the total Asian elephants in the world.
●
According to the 2017
elephant census, Karnataka has 6,049
elephants, followed by Assam (5,719)
and Kerala (3,054).
Survey methodology:
●
A
block count survey will be undertaken on the first day.
●
The next day, an indirect
survey will be carried out in the same blocks by walking along identified transect
lines of 2 km and identifying the elephant dungs on both sides of the line.
●
On May 19, a waterhole
census will be conducted to identify the herd composition of the elephants.
● Block count survey:
○ In
the block counts method, areas of 4-5 sq km in the forests are selected and
elephant numbers are noted.
●
Dung
density method:
○ The
dung density method is an indirect way of counting elephants. Fresh piles of
elephant dung are marked in an area, photographs are taken and GPS location is
recorded.
○ Elephants
defecate 14-15 times a day. So, we assess the dung decay rate and then we
estimate elephant numbers in a particular area.
●
Waterhole
count:
○ A
waterhole count of elephants will be held on Friday. Under this method, forest
staff ascertain the sex and population of the elephants that visit waterholes.