Elephant census in South India from May 7 to 9

An elaborate census of elephants roaming the forests of South India will be carried out from May 7 to 9.

According to Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Bangalore, Anur Reddy, forest officials of Karnataka along with their counterparts in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh will carry out a synchronized census of elephants for three days to estimate their numbers in South India.

The forest department officials were carrying out a synchronized head-count of the pachyderms in view of their tendency to migrate across state borders.

Hundreds of forest department officials along with wildlife enthusiasts and volunteers will scour the forests areas to assess the approximate number of wild elephants. The census will be carried out direct counting based on sighting of elephants or indirect method like dung counting. The teams will be looking for elephants near ponds and other water bodies.

The census assumes importance in Karnataka as the State probably has the best and most secure elephant numbers in the country, accounting for around 4,500 elephants, which is the highest for any state in India.

During the 2005 elephant census, the country had a total of 21,300 elephants. South India alone account for more than 12,000 elephants during the 2005 census, forest officials said. Karnataka’s elephant count was closely followed by Tamil Nadu’s elephant population of around 4,000 and Kerala’s 3,500.

In Karnataka elephants are found in Bandipur and Nagarhole forest range, besides the hill ranges of Nilgiris and Western Ghats.