| Metric | Details |
| Total Estimate | 5,828 elephants |
| Increase since 2017 | 109 (from 5,719 in 2017) |
| Survey Period | February 20–27, 2024 |
| Coverage | 1,536 survey blocks across 43 forest divisions |
🌟 Role of Protected Areas
The survey reinforces the critical function of protected zones:
- Residence: Approximately 82% of the total elephant population resides within the state’s five Elephant Reserves.
- Key Reserves: Assam is home to major reserves that are crucial for elephant conservation, including:
- Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong
- Chirang-Ripu
- Sonitpur
- Dihing-Patkai
- Dhansiri-Lungding
⚠️ Conservation Challenges
Despite the positive population trend, the report highlights two persistent issues that require urgent attention:
- Habitat Fragmentation: Developmental activities (roads, railways, infrastructure) and encroachment break up the continuous forest cover, directly blocking the elephant corridors—the natural routes elephants use for seasonal migration. This severely limits their movement and access to food and water.
- Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC): The shrinking, degraded habitat forces elephants to venture into human settlements and agricultural fields, leading to crop damage, property destruction, and tragically, loss of life for both humans and elephants.
The report’s emphasis on improved conservation efforts points towards the need for securing all identified elephant corridors and strengthening anti-poaching measures, especially in low-density areas like Dhansiri-Lungding.