The Synchronous All India Elephant Estimation (SAIEE) 2021–25

Why in News ?According to the Synchronous All India Elephant Estimation (SAIEE) 2021–25, released on October 14, 2025, by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Project Elephant, and the Wildlife Institute of India,  India’s estimated population of Asian elephants is 22,446.

Elephant Populations have Regional Distribution:

Elephant populations are heavily concentrated in priority landscapes, represented the majority of the population in the Western Ghats Landscape:

Landscape           Estimated Population

Western Ghats 11,934

North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Floodplains              6,559

Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains                2,062

Central India and Eastern Ghats                1,891

Top States:

• Karnataka: 6,013 (highest population)
• Assam: 4,159
• Tamil Nadu: 3,136
• Kerala: 2,785
• Uttarakhand: 1,792
• Odisha: 912

Smaller populations :

Arunachal Pradesh (617), Meghalaya (677), Nagaland (252), Tripura (153), Madhya Pradesh (97), Maharashtra (63) and an estimated 650+ combined populations in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

New Methodology: Using DNA for Estimation Method

The SAIEE 2021–25 followed the tiger estimation methodology by creating 100 sq km cells across 20 states, then created sub-cells of 25 sq km and 4 sq km representing forested habitats. The survey process consisted of various key phases:

Phase 1: Direct Sighting and Sign Surveys- Survey crews would survey for signs of elephants, vegetation, and other mammals, as well as human disturbances, in pre-defined forest blocks.

Sample Collection:

DNA Extraction and Analysis: Primate behaviorists established a genetic mark-recapture approach to identify elephants, given that sampling DNA from dung could generate identifiable individuals without having to put elephants in the field.

The genetic mark-recapture replaced previous methods of observation, scanning waterholes, and estimating dung decay rates; northeastern elephant populations were also analyzed using escapement models with limited data from 2023 that could not have been robust on their own but were included to mention the potential for implementation in study findings.

Conservation Issues: Reported as a threat in all areas of the landscape:

• Western Ghats: Dung collection observations showed that habitat fragmentation associated with coffee- and tea-growing plantations and agriculture and farm fencing among many ongoing developments that fragmented elephant ranges was an issue, leading to further disconnection of populations.
• Shivalik Hills and Brahmaputra Plains: Dung collection observations showed evidence of the loss of important corridors for elephants due to disturbances from three points of view: railways, roads and power line intrusions, and encroachment of land-use changes. Those disturbances contributed to more human-elephant conflict.