Abstract
Effective management of endangered elephant populations hinges on gaining evidence-based information on demography and status of the habitat. This is particularly valuable for landscapes witnessing high levels of human-elephant conflict. The state of Chhattisgarh reports high intensity of human-elephant conflict, with an average loss of over 60 human lives annually. We present information on population trends of elephants collated from the Forest Department records, and assessed demographic parameters of a subset of the population in Surguja and Bilaspur Forest circles, based on a study carried out from July 2017 to December 2020. Information gathered so far indicates that in Chhattisgarh, elephant numbers are increasing accompanied by the expansion of its range. Based on Chhattisgarh Forest Department records and our observations, we conclude that during 2012–2021 the presence of elephant was confirmed in 15 Forest Divisions and 4 Protected Areas, with an estimated population of 250 to 300. We estimated the adult sex ratio (male: female) to be 1: 4.5. Approximately 44% of the female elephants sampled were potentially breeding adults (>15 years). The estimated fertility rate was 0.29, with a mean inter-calf interval of 3.4 years. Average female group size was 10.9 (SD ± 6.9) with profound monthly variations. As a result of intensive crop raiding, body condition scores indicated that most of the elephants were in excellent condition. The elephant population in Chhattisgarh is demographically connected to neighbouring states such as Odisha and Jharkhand, and within the state they occur in numerous scattered groups in human dominated landscapes. Fragmentation and isolation of these groups over time can render the population vulnerable to biotic pressures, leading to gradual decline and possible local extinction.References
Areendran, G., R. Krishna, M. Sraboni, M. Madhushree, G. Himanshu & P.K. Sen (2011): Geospatial modeling to assess elephant habitat suitability and corridors in northern Chhattisgarh, India. Tropical Ecology 52: 275–283.
Arivazhagan, C. (2005): Population dynamics of Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) in Southern India. Ph.D. thesis, Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu, India.
Bonenfant, C., J.M. Gaillard, F. Klein & J.L. Hamann (2005): Can we use the young: female ratio to infer ungulate population dynamics? An empirical test using red deer Cervus elaphus as a model. Journal of Applied Ecology 42: 361–370.
Clutton-Brock, T.H. & G.R. Iason (1986): Sex ratio variation in mammals. The Quarterly Review of Biology 61: 369–373.
Daniel, J.C., A. Desai, R. Manakadan, N.M. Raj, S. Swaminathan, R. Babu & G. Balasubramanian (2008): The population, distribution, habitat and problems of the Asian Elephant Elephas maximus in Andhra Pradesh, India, including an assessment of the causes for their migration from the Hosur-Dharmapuri forests of Tamil Nadu into Andhra Pradesh. Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai.
De Silva, S., C. Elizabeth Webber, U.S. Weerathunga, T.V. Pushpakumara, D.K. Weerakoon & G. Wittemyer (2013): Demographic variables for wild Asian elephants using longitudinal observations. PLoS one 8(12): e82788.
Fernando, P., H.K. Janaka, S.K.K. Ekanayaka, H.G. Nishantha & J. Pastorini (2009): A simple method for assessing elephant body condition. Gajah 31: 29–31.
FSI (2019): Indian State of Forest Report – 2019. Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.
Goswami, V.R., M.D. Madhusudan & K.U. Karanth (2007): Application of photographic capture-recapture modelling to estimate demographic parameters for male Asian elephants. Animal Conservation 10: 391–399.
Guru, S.D. (1976): Gazetteer of India: Madhya Pradesh – Raigarh District. District Gazetteers Department, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Hanski, I. (2013): Extinction debt at different spatial scales. Animal Conservation 16(1): 12–13.
Jathanna, D., K.U. Karanth, N.S. Kumar, V.R. Goswami, D. Vasudev & K.K. Karanth (2015): Reliable monitoring of elephant populations in the forests of India: analytical and practical considerations. Biological Conservation 187: 212–220.
Krüger, O., A.N. Radford, C. Anderson & R. Liversidge (2005): Successful sons or superior daughters: Sex-ratio variation in springbok. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 272(1561): 375–381.
Laws, R.M., I.S.C. Parker & R.C.B. Johnstone (1975): Elephants and their Habitats: The ecology of elephants in north Bunyoro, Uganda. Clarendon Press, UK.
Leimgruber, P., Senior, B. Uga, M. Aung, M.A. Songer, T. Mueller, C. Wemmer & J.D. Ballou (2008): Modeling population viability of captive elephants in Myanmar (Burma): Implications for wild populations. Animal Conservation 11: 198–205.
Moss, C.J. (2001): The demography of an African elephant (Loxodonta africana) population in Amboseli, Kenya. Journal of Zoology 255(2): 145–156.
Moss, C.J. (2012): Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.
Natarajan, L. (2022): Ecology and ranging behaviour of elephants, Elephas maximus, and its implications for managing human–elephant conflict in Chhattisgarh, India. Ph.D. thesis. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and Saurashtra University, Rajkot, India.
Natarajan, L., A. Kumar, P. Dubey, J. Das, R.K. Singh, K.K. Bisen, P. Nigam & B. Pandav (2019): Elephants of Northern Chhattisgarh: A photographic manual of select individuals. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and Chhattisgarh Forest Department, Raipur.
Nelson, A.E. (1910): Gazetteer of India: Bilaspur District of Madhya Pradesh. Pioneer Press, Allahabad, India.
Pokharel, S.S., P.B. Seshagiri & R. Sukumar (2017): Assessment of season-dependent body condition scores in relation to faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in free-ranging Asian elephants. Conservation Physiology 5(1): 1–14.
Reed, D.H., J.J. O’Grady, B.W. Brook, J.D. Ballou & R. Frankham (2003): Estimates of minimum viable population sizes for vertebrates and factors influencing those estimates. Biological Conservation 113(1): 23–34.
Rodgers, W.A. & H.S. Panwar (2009): Planning a wildlife protected area network in India. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India.
Sheldon, B.C. & S.A. West (2004): Maternal dominance, maternal condition, and offspring sex ratio in ungulate mammals. American Naturalist 163(1): 40–54.
Singh, A.K., R.R. Singh & S. Choudhary (2002): Human-Elephant conflicts in changed landscapes of south West Bengal, India. Indian Forester 128(10): 1119–1132.
Sokal, R.R. & F.J. Rohlf (2012): Biometry: The Principles and Practice of Statistics in Biological Research. 4th edn. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, USA.
Sukumar, R. (1985): Ecology of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and its interaction with man in south India. Ph.D. thesis. Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
Sukumar, R. (1991): The management of large mammals in relation to male strategies and conflict with people. Biological Conservation 55(1): 93–102.
Sukumar, R. (1995): Minimum viable populations for Asian elephant conservation. Pp. 279–288. In: A Week with Elephants (Eds: J.C. Daniel & H. Datye), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.
Tiwari, S.K. (2002): A Study of the Ecology and Behaviour of Asian Elephants in Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa. Ph.D. thesis. Burdwan University, West Bengal, India.
Trivers, R. & D. Willard (1973): Natural selection of parental ability to vary the sex ratio offspring. Science 179(4068): 90–92.
Verma, R. (1989): Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Surguja district. District Gazetteers Department, Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal, India.
Vidya, T.N.C., D. Prasad & A. Ghosh (2014): Individual Identification in Asian Elephants. Gajah 40: 3–17.
Williams, A.C. (2005): The Ecology and Population Parameters of Asian Elephants in North West India. Ph.D. thesis. Saurashtra University, Rajkot, India and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India.
Williams, B.K., J.D. Nichols & M.J. Conroy (2002): Analysis and management of animal populations. Academic Press, California, USA.
Wittemyer, G., D. Daballen & I. Douglas-Hamilton (2013): Comparative demography of an at-risk African elephant population. PloS ONE 8(1): e53726.