A rhinoceros at Kaziranga

Kaziranga, April 11: This is a piece of news that will warm the cockles of every conservationist?s heart.

An elephant census at the Kaziranga National Park has revealed an increase in the population of the species by nearly 200, no mean feat given the intensity of the man-animal conflict in Assam. The encouraging report comes close on the heels of a grand centenary bash at the park.

Conservationists from across the world, including British writer Mark Shand and elephant trainer Parbati Barua, had attended the second edition of the Kaziranga Elephant Festival in February and expressed concern over the perceived depletion of the population of the magnificent beasts. But the census figures indicate that the situation has actually improved.

As many as 1,194 elephants were spotted in the national park and 52 in its periphery.

The 2002 census report had pegged elephant population here at 1,048. ?The latest elephant count will help us frame better policies for the protection of the species,? said Bokakhat divisional forest officer Utpal Bora.

Most forest officials are, however, not over the moon yet. One of them said inferences could be made only after receiving the complete set of results. The outcome of the census in other elephant habitats such as Karbi Anglong, Garampani (Golaghat division) and Nagaon is awaited.

About 50 teams of three persons each began the census on April 3. A sample count of 30 per cent of the identified habitats was completed the very next day.

Bora and his colleague, assistant conservator L.N. Boruah, are now working on the modalities for the tiger and rhino census next year. The rhino census was to be conducted after the elephant count, but had to be postponed because of the early onset of the monsoon.

The last rhino count in 1999 revealed 1,552 members of the one-horned species. A group of six rhinos with three calves was spotted in the Bagori range just last week.

The park authorities have begun recording such sightings in preparation for the actual census.