Jamshedpur, Aug. 27: Numbers suggest the tuskers are fast disappearing.

The conflict between man and animal has taken a toll on the elephant population at the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, around 10km from the city.

According to the census report of 2008, the elephant count stands at 80, 16 less than the last census prepared in 2003.

Officials said in villages of Jharkhand and Bengal, elephants mostly die due to conflict with humans. They explained that two elephants were electrocuted by an overhead wire near the Dimna lake in May this year. In another incident, villagers killed an elephant when it encroached upon their village in Fadlugoda last December.

Moreover, the shrinking forest area, has forced the pachyderms to move to other villages in search of food and shelter. Hence, elephants from Dalma move to villages of neighbouring Bengal, which many a time it leads to their killing due to fear.

Officials of the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary said: “The latest census was conducted after a gap of five years.”

Carried out in May this year, the census was conducted around 68 water holes in the sanctuary. At the time of the earlier census, only 66 water holes were present.

“Water holes in the sanctuary attract more elephants during the summer months. We basically keep count of animals that visit the water holes over a month. Earlier, surveys were done following the same method to record the animal population in forest areas,” said a forest official.

Summer happens to be ideal season to carry out a census. This time, the team identified 30 males, 36 females and 14 calves in the wildlife sanctuary. Lying in the catchment area of Subernarekha river adjoining the Purulia district of Bengal, the wildlife sanctuary covers an area of 193.22sqkm and has an undulating terrain with hillocks, plateaus, deep valleys and open fields — offering a diverse habitat to wild animals.

Earlier census reports suggest that their population was on the rise in the 1990s. This year, however, the census saw a sharp fall in the pachyderm population in the wildlife sanctuary.

This year’s census also reported that the sanctuary has 36 sloth bears, 204 wild boars, 29 barking deer, 31 langurs, 639 monkeys, one wild dog, one ratel, 56 giant squirrels, 269 wild fowls, nine hyenas, 19 mongoose, 71 pea fowls, three snakes, two hornbills and one mouse deer.