2,103 elephants counted in Odisha forests

Bhubaneswar: A total of 2,103 elephants were counted in Odisha forests during the three-day winter census exercise from November 14 to 16. The elephant count went up by five in the last six months. A census report released by the Forest department on Thursday stated that elephants were spotted in 38 of the 48 forest divisions.

The 2,103 elephants include 334 adult tuskers, 12 adult makhnas, 678 adult females, 186 sub-adult tuskers, 4 sub-adult makhnas, 305 sub-adult females, 181 juveniles and 403 calves. The last elephant census was carried out in May, wherein 2,098 elephants were counted.

During the winter census, the highest number of wild elephants were found in Dhenkanal (291), Keonjhar (160), Athagarh (124), Deogarh (123) and Angul (117). A significant increase in the elephant population was also observed in divisions such as Rourkela, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Athamallik, Ghumsur North, Kalahandi North, Kalahandi South, Bolangir and Rairakhol.