File picture of a herd of elephants in the Chandaka-Dampara sanctuary

Bhubaneswar, June 28: The elephant population in the state has gone up. For a state grappling with a controversy of jumbo proportions over poaching and degradation of sanctuaries that have been home to the animals, this has come as welcome news.

Forest officials have counted 1,930 elephants in the state, an increase of 44 since the last census conducted in 2010. The latest census results announced here today show that Odisha has 334 tuskers, 1,087 female elephants and 463 calves. Officials said the sex of 46 elephants counted during the census, which took place in the first week of June, could not be determined.

The good news is that 549 elephants have been counted in the Baripada circle. This includes the Similipal Tiger Reserve, which had become notorious for the poaching of these animals. The count in this area last time was 540.

Principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) J.D Sharma said the enumerators have, for the first time, come across elephants in the Bargarh-Sambalpur belt of western Odisha. Sixteen elephants were sighted in the Hirakud wildlife division, and 15 in the Bargarh division.

The census was conducted in 46 of the 50 wildlife divisions in the state using the most non-controversial method of counting — direct sighting. Officials said the enumerators found the presence of elephants in 38 of the 46 wildlife divisions chosen for counting.

Seen in the backdrop of rampant poaching of elephants in different parts of the state, especially in Similipal Tiger Reserve where more than 10 jumbos have been killed in the past year, the census results have come as welcome news. The latest killing was reported in May, when the mortal remains of four elephants were found in the Similipal reserve area.

As it is, man-elephant conflict has been escalating in the state. There have been frequent reports of jumbo raids on villages located on the periphery of forests.

The government has launched a special elephant project to improve their habitat and create new corridors. The government had earlier planned 14 new elephant corridors in different parts of the state. It would now add nine more to it.