Jumbo number up in State

Despite rampant killings, elephant population in the State has gone up. From 1,886 in 2010, the jumbo number has jumped to 1,930, the latest census has revealed.

During the last two years, the number of tuskers, mostly targeted by hunters, has grown by just two __ from 332 to 334 while the number of young ones has recorded an increase of 15 __ from 448 to 463 __ which is an encouraging sign.

Across all segments, the number of elephants registered a rise. The number of females rose to 1,087 from 1,064 while the figure of unsexed ones too increased to 46, Forest and Environment Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said this paper.

The census was conducted across 46 forest divisions (out of 50) from June 1 to 3. In as many as seven divisions __ Kalahandi (North), Khariar, Sunabeda, Chilika, Bhadrak, Jeypore and Nabarangpur __ no elephant was found whereas in eight divisions, there was no change in their status. Twenty divisions reported a rise in the number of jumbos. In 18, there was a fall in number which could be attributed to migration as well as deaths.

“We saw that northern Odisha pockets saw a rise in population whereas southern Odisha reported a decline. In Bargarh, which had never reported elephant sighting, at least 35 jumbos were enumerated by the census teams,” Chief Wildlife Warden Janardan Dibakar Sharma said.

In all circles, barring four, the jumbo population rose. In Angul, it jumped from 590 to 633 whereas in Baripada, the number rose from 540 to 549. In Berhampur Circle, the rise was from 121 to 149 while in Bhubaneswar, it rose marginally from 41 to 43.

However, Rourkela Circle, which includes Keonjhar, saw a decline from 245 to 228 while Sambalpur recorded a similar trend __ from 249 to 229. In Bhawanipatna too, it fell from 104 to 87 whereas in Koraput, it dropped from 26 to 12.

The elephant reserves of Mayurbhanj and Mahanadi reported a rise while Sambalpur reported a drop.

What remains a cause of concern, however, is the high number of deaths, which included poaching. During the last four years, at least 221 elephants have died in the State. The year 2009-10 reported 51 deaths which rose to 83 in 2010-11. In 2011-12, the casualties stood at 66 while the current year has seen 21 deaths so far.