Bhubaneswar, March 12: The last elephant census was carried out seven years back in 2017 in Odisha, which usually takes place in every two years gap.
The last census recorded a head count of 1,976, a marginal rise from the previous census figure of 1,954 in 2015.
According to elephant death ratio in the state between 1990 and 2000, on an average number was 33 per year that increased to 46 between 2000 and 2010.
After 2010, Odisha has been witnessing death of 78 elephants annually. During the last few months the state has registered death of 12 to 15 elephants per month.
Large-scale poaching, including those in protected areas of Similipal Tiger Reserve, has triggered apprehensions about the jumbo population in the state.
The Forest department is sitting on elephant census for the last seven years despite the need for early completion of the exercise to work out a better conservation plan. Odisha used to conduct its own elephant census every two years. It, however, was not done in 2019 and subsequently put on hold following the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, said a senior forest department official.
