Guwahati: Assam lost more than 300 elephants in the last six years due to natural and unnatural causes, including poaching, poisoning, electrocution, and train accidents.
An RTI application reply from the Assam Forest Department revealed that 281 elephants died in 22 wildlife divisions between 2019 and 2024.
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The number of elephant deaths during this period is likely higher, as data from ten divisions was unavailable to Northeast Now. Furthermore, some divisions provided incomplete data. RTI responses from these ten divisions are awaited. Northeast Now will update this story upon receiving the complete data.
A total of 55 elephants were killed in 2019, followed by 50 in 2020. In 2021, 35 elephants died, while 46 lost their lives in 2022. The number of elephants killed in 2023 and 2024 was 54 and 41, respectively.
As many as 59 elephants were killed in Manas National Park, while four died in Kaziranga National Park during this period.
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The number of elephant deaths in Kaziranga is likely to increase, as data from the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, which encompasses a significant portion of the national park, was not included. The DFO office refused to provide the data sought under RTI, citing Rule 4 of the RTI Act.
In April 2024, a female elephant named ‘Lakhimala,’ used for safaris at Kaziranga National Park in the Bagori range, died under mysterious circumstances.
Similarly, on July 18, 2024, a female wild elephant died after coming into contact with an electric wire inside the butterfly park adjacent to the Numaligarh refinery. Two senior officials of Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) were arrested for allegedly burying the elephant’s carcass without following proper procedures.
As a division, Goalpara topped the list with 27 elephant deaths, followed by Kamrup (West) with 25 deaths and Lakhimpur with 22 deaths.
Mushalpur division in Baksa district, which shares an international border with Bhutan, recorded 21 elephant deaths during this period.
Dhubri and Hailakandi divisions recorded no elephant deaths during this period.
In July of this year, Union Minister of State for Environment, Kirti Vardhan Singh, told the Lok Sabha that 55 elephants died due to electrocution in Assam.
Sixteen elephants were killed in train accidents, and ten elephants were poisoned in Assam during the last five years.
The minister stated that the management of wildlife habitats is primarily the responsibility of state governments and Union Territory administrations.
According to the latest elephant estimate data released by the Assam Forest Department, the state now has 5,828 elephants.
RTI Data Discrepancies
Several data discrepancies were observed in the RTI responses. The Public Information Officer of the Nagaon Wildlife Division reported zero elephant deaths in 2021, despite the fact that 18 elephants were killed by lightning on May 13, 2021, in the Bamuni area.
The SPIO of the Golaghat Division emailed a letter stating that a list of elephant deaths was furnished, but no attachment was found.
The SPIO of the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division refused to provide the data and instead requested that the applicant visit the office to view the records during office hours with prior notice.
Despite the PCCF forwarding the RTI application, several divisions, including Digboi, Mangaldoi, Kokrakjhar, North Kamrup, Karimganj, Aie Valley, Bongaigaon, Dima Hasao East, and West, did not respond.