A five-year satellite tracking study has provided new insights into how wild elephants navigate Assam’s forests, tea plantations, agricultural areas, and riverine habitats, yielding “crucial” data for the authorities to strengthen habitat protection and mitigate conflicts with humans.
The findings of the study, conducted by the Assam Forest Department and World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India), were published in a report titled ‘Tracking the Giants: Movement and Habitat-Use Patterns of GPS-Collared Elephants in Assam’. “This report fills a major knowledge gap in terms of elephant presence and movement in the state. The study generated more than 38,000 GPS (Global Positioning System) locations, providing high-resolution data on seasonal elephant movements across multi-use landscapes.
Wildlife officials and conservation ecologists tracked four female-led herds and a solitary male elephant in three high-conflict districts of Udalguri, Sonitpur and Biswanath — all on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River — between April 2021 and June 2026 for the “breakthrough” study. “The study will help guide conservation planning, strengthen wildlife-friendly infrastructure and support safer coexistence between people and wildlife across Assam,” Assam’s Forest Minister, Jayanta Mallabaruah, said after releasing the report on the occasion of the 72nd Wildlife Week on Tuesday (October 6, 2026). The findings of this study provide important baseline information on elephant-ranging patterns, particularly where they overlap with human land use,” Vinay Gupta, Assam’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests-Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden, said.
