Uttar Pradesh: 120 elephants added to population in three years

Uttar Pradesh saw its elephant population rise to 352, results from census carried out after three years showed.  

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh forest department carried out a census for the number of elephants and recorded 352 elephants in the state. The census was carried out in three phases after three years with the coordination of authorities in adjoining Uttarakhand.

While Uttarakhand also conducted a census using drones for the first time, UP has not adopted the technique yet. 

According to the last census, which was carried out in 2017, only 232 elephants were alive in the five reserves of UP. 

But during the last three years, the elephant population figures jumped, with 352 elephants recorded in the state.

The forest department said each year 40 elephants on average were added to its population in the state.

The conservator of the UP-forest department Mukesh Kumar confirmed after the census that 352 elephants are alive in the five reserves.

According to data by the department, 149 elephants are in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, 82 in Amangarh Tiger Reserve, 103 in the Bijnor range, 103 in Shivalik forest range, and 18 elephants were recorded in the Saharanpur region.

Uttarakhand census:

Uttarakhand forest department is also carrying out an elephant census after five years in the state. The forest department, for the first time, used drones for this purpose. However, Uttarakhand has not released any data resulting out of the elephant census, so far.

According to the department, the last elephant population estimation was carried out in 2015 by the state forest department when it had 1,797 elephants in the state.

Jim Corbett National Park is emerging as the stronghold of elephants in the state. Data from the previous period showed that 1,035 elephants were in the park.