Counting the Gentle Giants: Findings from the Latest Elephant Census

SAIKAT K BASU

Indian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) are a subspecies of the Asian elephant found mainly in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. They are large, intelligent, and highly social animals that live in matriarchal herds. Known for their smaller ears compared to African elephants, they play a crucial ecological role as “ecosystem engineers,” helping maintain forest and grassland habitats.

Indian elephants are keystone species, shaping forest ecosystems through seed dispersal and habitat modification. They live in matriarchal herds; highly intelligent with strong memory and communication abilities. Listed as Endangered by the IUCN their movements create clearings, maintain grasslands, disperse forest seeds, and sustain ecological balance.These giant mammals need our protection, dedicated migration corridors, community participation, and reduced human-eleohant conflict to ensure their long-term survival.

Elephants have been part of Indian civilisation for over 4,000 years—appearing in Harrapan seals, ancient literature, royal emblems, and folklore. They have been 

used in warfare, royal processions, festivals and logging operations in earlier periods. Elephants are associated with qualities like power, majesty, stability, loyalty and intelligence; and featured in folk tales like Panchatantra, Jataka stories and regional legends. Elephants are widely depicted in Indian temple carvings, paintings, textiles, sculpture, jewelry and architecture. They are considered as a symbol of prosperity, rain, fertility and good fortune in different Indian communities.

Indian elephants have most iconic religious association in the form of elephant God or Lord Ganesha. Ganesha, with an elephant head, symbolizes wisdom, new beginnings, protection, and removal of obstacles. In Buddhism, the Buddha’s conception is symbolized by a white elephant entering Queen Maya’s dream. Elephants represent peace, compassion, and mental strength in Buddhist teachings. In Jainism, elephants often appear as auspicious symbols in temple art. Airavata, the white elephant of Indra, king of the gods, symbolizes royal power and rain-making. Elephants often serve as guardians at temple gates (Gaja-dwara concept). Temple elephants are part of rituals in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, especially during Thrissur Pooram. Elephants are seen as carriers of divine energy, though modern ethics call for humane, non-exploitative practices.

Elephants in India remain part of the endangered flora-fauna community — the species Asian elephant (of which the Indian population is a major part) is considered threatened globally.  Major threats include: habitat loss, fragmentation of forests, disruption of migration corridors, infrastructure development (roads, railways, hydropower projects), land-use change (like plantations), and human-elephant conflict (movement into human-dominated areas, accidents, retaliatory killings).  In some stronghold zones — for example forests of the Western Ghats — loss of connectivity among habitats is particularly concerning; as forest patches shrink or get isolated, elephants’ ability to migrate, breed, and maintain genetic diversity is compromised.

According to the latest nationwide survey All?India Synchronous Elephant Estimation (SAIEE) 2025, India’s wild elephant population is estimated at 22,446 individuals. This is lower than the earlier 2017 estimate of 27,312. However, experts and authorities caution that the numbers are not directly comparable — the 2025 census is India’s first ever DNA-based “mark–recapture” census (using genetic analysis of dung samples), while earlier counts used visual observation and less robust methods. The 2025 estimate comes with a statistical range: between 18,255 and 26,645 elephants, with the 22,446 as the mid-point.  In short, this new count serves as a more accurate baseline — but its lower value does not necessarily mean there was a massive population crash; part of the “decline” reflects the shift to a more rigorous census method.

The new census also mapped roughly where India’s elephants are concentrated. 

The Western Ghats house 11,934 elephants which is the largest stronghold representing ~53%. The  Northeastern Hills and Brahmaputra Plain has 6,559 (~22%), the 

Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains is inhabited by 2,062 (~9%) elephants and the 

Central India and Eastern Ghats constitute 1,891 (~8%) wild elephants. On a state-wise level, the states with highest elephant numbers include Karnataka (6,013), Assam (4,159), Tamil Nadu (3,136), Kerala (2,785), and Uttarakhand (1,792). 

The 2025 census establishes a scientifically robust baseline for future monitoring: with DNA-based mark-recapture data, conservationists can track population trends more reliably over time. With India home to over 60% of the world’s remaining wild Asian elephants, the findings have global conservation significance. The new data also helps identify which landscapes and states need prioritized protection — eg. Western Ghats, North-East, and corridors connecting fragmented habitats — so that conservation efforts (habitat restoration, corridor protection, mitigation of human-elephant conflict) can be more targeted.

Indian elephants have a dual identity in the Indian subcontinent. As wildlife, they are vital ecological engineers whose survival is crucial for forest ecosystems. As socio-cultural icons, they symbolize India’s heritage, appearing in art, literature, festivals and folklore. As religious symbols, they embody wisdom, divinity, protection and auspiciousness. Balancing conservation with cultural respect is essential to ensure that Indian elephants continue to thrive both in the wild and within India’s living traditions.