GPS study on elephant movements aims to mitigate conflicts in Assam
The Assam Forest Department and WWF-India have released a five-year study using GPS tracking to monitor elephant movements in high-conflict districts. The data aims to help authorities design better infrastructure and conservation strategies to reduce human-elephant conflicts.
Why it matters
Human-elephant conflict is a significant issue in India, causing substantial loss of life and property; this data-driven approach provides a scalable model for wildlife coexistence.
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.
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 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’.
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