❖ The Environment Ministry has shelved its elephant census report, ‘Status of Elephant in India 2022-23’.

❖ Data from the unreleased report show a sharp decline in elephant populations in the east-central and southern landscapes.

❖ The slide in numbers is especially dramatic in Southern West Bengal (84%), Jharkhand (64%), Odisha (54%), and Kerala (51%) 

❖ Until 2002, elephants were counted in India by the “total direct count” method.

❖ In 2002, the “indirect dung count method” was introduced in the southern states.

❖ In 2023, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala used a protocol combining the block count and dung count methods