Elephant and tiger populations in Kerala’s forests have undergone a significant decline, as reported by the Forest Department’s latest enumeration.
According to the report, the number of wild elephants in the state has dropped from 3,322 in 2017 to 1,920 in the current count. Similarly, the tiger population in the Wayanad landscape decreased from 120 in 2018 to 84.
The surveys were conducted at different times, with the tiger survey carried out from April 10 to May 25, and the wild elephant count done from May 17 to 19.
Head of Forest Department, Bennichan Thomas, and Chief Wildlife Warden, Ganga Singh, presented the reports to State Forest Minister A K Saseendran.
The wild elephant population was determined using both the block count method and dung spotting. According to the block count, there are 1,920 elephants in Kerala’s forest regions, with a density of 0.20 per square kilometer. On the other hand, dung spotting suggests a population of 2,386 elephants and an animal density of 0.25 per square kilometer.
Bennichan Thomas highlighted the block counting method as more accurate, following a scientific process to determine the population of these majestic animals.
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