SAIEE 2021–25: India Counts 22,446 Elephants
Why in the news
MoEFCC and the Wildlife Institute of India published the census in Dehradun after a delay of over a year.
About SAIEE
- Synchronised count of Asian elephants every five years, aimed at a data-driven baseline linked with tiger census methods.
Landscapes
| Region | Count |
|---|---|
| Western Ghats | 11,934 |
| North-east hills and Brahmaputra plains | 6,559 |
| Shivalik and Gangetic plains | 2,062 |
| Central India and Eastern Ghats | 1,891 |
States and trends
- Top states: Karnataka (6,013) and Assam (4,159) lead, while Tamil Nadu (3,136), Kerala (2,785) and Uttarakhand (1,792) follow.
- Falls: Jharkhand and Odisha, tied to mining and habitat loss.
- Rise: Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, from elephants leaving disturbed eastern habitats.