India's First DNA-Based Wild Elephant Census Reveals Population of 22,446 - Comprehensive Study Shows Regional Distribution

India hosts more than 60 percent of the world's remaining Asian elephant population, according to recent findings.

The latest All-India Synchronous Elephant Estimation (SAIEE) 2025, unveiled by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) on Tuesday, reports that India's wild elephant population currently stands at 22,446. This figure appears approximately 17% lower than the 2017 estimate of 27,312. However, scientists emphasize that these figures cannot be directly compared since this latest census employed advanced genetic methods rather than visual counts.

This groundbreaking census represents India's first DNA-based elephant count, conducted through a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Project Elephant, and the WII. The comprehensive report, released during WII's annual research seminar in Dehradun, establishes the country's elephant population within a range of 18,255 to 26,645, averaging 22,446.

The SAIEE report highlights several critical threats contributing to the apparent decline in elephant numbers, including habitat loss, infrastructure development projects, and increasing human-elephant conflict. Elephants are increasingly forced into human-populated areas due to shrinking habitats and blocked migration corridors, resulting in more incidents of electrocution, train accidents, and retaliatory killings.

For the 2025 census, researchers collected 21,056 dung samples across elephant habitats, covering an impressive 6.7 lakh kilometers of forest trails. Scientists identified 4,065 unique elephants through DNA fingerprinting techniques and applied a mark-recapture model to estimate the national population. Officials noted that utilizing genetic methods caused a delay in finalizing the report, which began in 2021, as the data verification process required additional time.

Unlike previous censuses that relied on direct sightings, the new DNA-based methodology offers greater accuracy and eliminates duplication issues, similar to techniques employed for tiger population estimates.

The Western Ghats continue to serve as India's largest elephant stronghold, supporting 11,934 elephants, while the Northeastern Hills and Brahmaputra floodplains host 6,559. The Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plains maintain 2,062 elephants, and Central India along with the Eastern Ghats support 1,891 elephants.

At the state level, Karnataka maintains its leadership position with 6,013 elephants, followed by Assam (4,159), Tamil Nadu (3,136), Kerala (2,785), and Uttarakhand (1,792). Odisha supports 912 elephants, while smaller populations exist in Arunachal Pradesh (617), Meghalaya (677), Nagaland (252), and Tripura (153). The smallest, most fragmented herds are found in Madhya Pradesh (97) and Maharashtra (63).