Rourkela: The elephant census under Rourkela Forest division ended Thursday, officials said. They added that counting of elephants was undertaken in six ranges of this division. “This year, the census was undertaken after seven years,” informed Rourkela DFO, Jasobant Sethi. “A total of 21 elephants are staying in the division. Nine of them were found in Rajgangpur range and 12 in Lathitaka range. All of them were found in healthy condition,” Sethi added.
Officials informed that out of the nine elephants in Rajgangpur, three are males, four females and two are calves. In the Lathikata range, two males, four females and six calves were found, they added. The elephant census started May 21 and 250 Forest department staff were used for it. A number of teams comprising three to four persons were formed to track down the elephants. A total of 44 platforms (machans) were set up at various locations of the two ranges, officials stated. They added that most of the platforms were set up close to water bodies. “We had well-trained staff for conducting the census. They were assigned the task of approximately guessing the weight and height of the elephants and determining its gender. After the elephants disappeared from the vicinity of the platform, the staff came down to measure its hoofs,” Sethi stated.