| Number of domesticated elephants Past estimates of domesticated elephants are available mostly for war elephants. The army of Chandra Gupta Maurya (third century B.C.) had 9 000 elephants; other rulers in the Indian sub-continent at that time had at least another 5 000 elephants between them. The great Moghul Emperor Akbar (1556-1605 A.D.) had 32 000 elephants in his stables. His son Jehangir (1605-1627 A.D.), a great connoisseur of elephants, was stated to have 113 000 elephants in captivity: 12 000 in active army service, 1 000 to supply fodder to these animals, and another 100 000 elephants to carry courtiers, officials, attendants and baggage (Lahiri Choudhury, 1988). Jardin put the number of elephants in captivity in 1836 at 40 000 (Anon, 1993). Some idea of the number of domesticated elephants can be had from the data on elephant captures. Sukumar (1994) estimates that during the period 1868 to 1980, 30 000-50 000 elephants might have been captured throughout the Indian subcontinent, largely in the northeast. As many as 5 564 elephants were captured in northeast India during 1961-79 (Lahiri Choudhury, 1984). No formal census of captive elephants has ever been attempted in India. Although a livestock census has been conducted in various states in India in different years, either elephants were not covered or the information about them has not been analysed and tabulated properly. Some experts have, however, attempted to estimate the number of captive elephants in India. Jackson (1985) estimated the number as 2 910-3 110 including 750 for northern India, 700 for southern India and 1 460-1 660 for northeastern India. Santiapillai and Jackson (1990) cited a population figure of 2 260-2 760 including 500-750 for northern India, 300-350 for southern India and 1 460-1 660 for northeastern India. Lair (1997) suggests that these figures are under-estimates and the number of domesticated elephants in India should be not less than 4 000. A quick but fairly exhaustive survey of the status of captive elephants was done by Project Elephant during November and December, 2000. The help of knowledgeable elephant owners, NGOs, the Central Zoo Authority, the Circus Federation of India, State Forest Departments and other experts was sought for this purpose. Field visits were made to some major elephant centres in the northeast. This survey yielded a minimum figure of 3 400 captive elephants in India. However, information about circuses as well as mendicants in northern India does not appear to be complete. A few elephants in the south and northeast also appear to have been missed. Hence, the present number of captive elephants in India can be put at 3 400-3 600 including 271-300 for northern India, 209-240 for eastern India, 79-92 for western India, 860-920 for southern India, 1 903-1 970 for northeastern India and 78 for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This estimate compares fairly well with the earlier estimates. The apparent increase in the northeastern region is because of improved record-keeping and intensive survey. The decrease in the northern and eastern regions is a result of the transfer of elephants to the south where the demand for elephants is still high. |
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