Why in the News?

A five-year GPS tracking study conducted by the Assam Forest Department and WWF-India has generated important information on how wild elephants move through forests, tea plantations, agricultural areas and riverine landscapes in Assam.

More About the News

• Between 2021 and 2026, researchers fitted GPS collars on four female-led elephant herds and one solitary male elephant in the human-elephant conflict districts of Udalguri, Sonitpur and Biswanath. 
• The study generated more than 38,000 GPS locations, providing detailed information on seasonal elephant movements and habitat use.
• The findings have been compiled in the report “Tracking the Giants: Movement and Habitat-Use Patterns of GPS-Collared Elephants in Assam.”

Key Findings of the Study

• The study identified Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary, Behali Wildlife Sanctuary and Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary as important habitats extensively used by the collared elephants.
• Protected areas and reserve forests remained major elephant habitats for most of the year, but elephants also regularly moved through tea plantations, agricultural fields and riverine areas.
• Tea plantations acted as important movement pathways and secondary habitats, bringing elephants into closer contact with human settlements and increasing the possibility of conflict.
• The home ranges of female-led herds expanded during the paddy-cropping season which turns out to be a period of high human-elephant conflict.. 
• Elephants were found using river channels as movement routes between the Himalayan foothills and the Brahmaputra grasslands or chaporis. 
  • This reveals the importance of riverine landscapes in maintaining connectivity between different elephant habitats.
• Several elephant movement routes intersected with roads, railway lines and human settlements, creating risks of both human casualties and elephant deaths.

Human-Elephant Conflict in Assam

• Assam is an important stronghold of the Asian elephant, but habitat loss and degradation have increasingly brought elephants and people into close contact. 
• Human-elephant conflict can result in:
  • Crop and property damage.
  • Human injuries and deaths.
  • Elephant injuries and mortality.
  • Disruption of elephant movement routes.
  • Increased pressure on forests and agricultural landscapes.
• The GPS study is significant because it moves conservation planning beyond simply identifying elephant habitats. 
• It provides information on where elephants move, when they move and which types of landscapes they use during different seasons.

This information can help authorities identify conflict hotspots and design targeted measures such as early-warning systems, safe crossing points, barriers, community awareness and protection of movement corridors.

Transboundary Movement Between Assam and Bhutan

• An important finding was the transboundary movement of elephants between Udalguri in Assam and Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan during the dry season.
• This demonstrates that elephant conservation cannot always be managed within state or national boundaries. 
• Wildlife corridors may extend across international borders, requiring cooperation between India and Bhutan. Transboundary coordination can help in:
  • Protecting elephant corridors.
  • Sharing information on elephant movements.
  • Coordinating human-elephant conflict mitigation.
  • Preventing habitat fragmentation.
  • Developing landscape-level conservation strategies.

Why GPS Telemetry Matters

• GPS telemetry involves attaching a GPS-enabled tracking device to an animal to record its location at regular intervals.
• For elephant conservation, such technology can provide information on:
  • Seasonal migration and movement patterns.
  • Home-range size.
  • Important feeding and resting areas.
  • Wildlife corridors.
  • Interaction with agricultural and urban landscapes.
  • Locations where elephants frequently cross roads and railway lines.

Such data can support evidence-based wildlife management rather than relying only on occasional field observations.

Significance for Assam

• Human-elephant conflict has killed 1,147 people and 246 elephants in Assam over the past decade.
• As per the 2025 Synchronised All India Elephant Census, Assam has the northeast’s stronghold of Asian elephants, with about 4,149 animals.
• The study will guide conservation planning, wildlife-friendly infrastructure and safer coexistence between people and wildlife.
• WWF-India’s elephant programme said preventing conflict requires knowing where elephants move, which habitats and land they use, and how this shifts across seasons.
• The study highlights that elephant conservation requires protection of not only formally protected forests but also the larger landscape through which elephants move.

The findings therefore support a shift from protected-area-centric conservation to landscape-level conservation, where wildlife corridors and multi-use landscapes are also considered in planning.

Exam Hook: Key Takeaway

The Assam GPS study demonstrates that elephant conservation requires understanding seasonal movement patterns and protecting ecological connectivity across forests, tea plantations, agricultural landscapes and riverine habitats. It also highlights the importance of wildlife corridors, technology-based monitoring and India-Bhutan cooperation.

Prelims Practice Question

Q. Consider the following statements regarding the recent GPS-based elephant study in Assam:

1. The study was conducted by the Assam Forest Department and WWF-India.
2. GPS collars were fitted on four female-led herds and one solitary male elephant.
3. The study recorded elephant movement between Assam and Bhutan.
4. Sonai Rupai, Behali and Bornadi were identified as important habitats used by the collared elephants.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

A. Only 1 and 2
B. Only 2 and 3
C. Only 1, 3 and 4
D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

One-line wrap: The GPS study shows that saving elephants means protecting not just forests, but the corridors and landscapes through which they move.