VOICE FOR ASIAN ELEPHANTS SOCIETY

SECURING AND REWILDING CORRIDORS FOR ODISHA ELEPHANTS - A CRISIS IS UNFOLDING RIGHT NOW-AND IT IS SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL. ACCORDING TO THE WILDLIFE INSTITUTE OF INDIA, THE NATION'S ELEPHANT POPULATION HAS PLUMMETED TO JUST 22,446 INDIVIDUALS-A STAGGERING 18% DECLINE FROM THE 27,312 RECORDED IN 2017. THIS IS NOT A SLOW DECLINE. THIS IS A COLLAPSE UNFOLDING IN REAL TIME. IN ODISHA ALONE, NEARLY 100 ELEPHANTS HAVE DIED WITHIN JUST ONE YEAR, ACCORDING TO ODISHA'S MINISTER OF FOREST AND ENVIRONMENT-AN ALARMING SIGNAL OF HOW RAPIDLY THIS CRISIS IS ESCALATING AT THE STATE LEVEL. OVER THE PAST DECADE, 790 ELEPHANTS HAVE PERISHED IN ODISHA, WITH ELECTROCUTION LEADING AS THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THESE UNNATURAL DEATHS. IN THIS TIME, CONFLICTS HAVE CLAIMED 668 HUMAN LIVES AND LEFT 509 OTHERS INJURED, UNDERSCORING THE SHARED TRAGEDY OF THIS CRISIS. IN THE FACE OF THESE ESCALATING TRAGEDIES, VOICES FOR ASIAN ELEPHANTS IS TAKING BOLD, FRONTLINE ACTION-WORKING ALONGSIDE GRASSROOTS PARTNERS LIKE PARIBARTAN AND INDIGENOUS TRIBAL COMMUNITIES. IN JUST ONE YEAR, WE HAVE SECURED 52 ACRES OF VITAL CORRIDOR LAND, RECONNECTING TWO FRAGMENTED FORESTS AND RESTORING A LOST MIGRATORY PATH. THE RESULT? OVER 50 ELEPHANTS HAVE ALREADY RETURNED HOME. AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE HEALING DEGRADED HABITATS-PLANTING ELEPHANT-FRIENDLY, FRUIT-BEARING SAPLINGS AND CREATING WATERHOLES WITHIN CORE FOREST AREAS. THESE ARE NOT SMALL INTERVENTIONS-THEY ARE LIFELINES. BY BRINGING FOOD AND WATER BACK INTO THEIR NATURAL HABITATS, WE ARE PREVENTING ELEPHANTS FROM STRAYING INTO DANGEROUS HUMAN LANDSCAPES-WHERE TOO MANY TRAGEDIES OCCUR-AVOIDABLE DEATHS.

SAVING ELEPHANTS FROM DEADLY TRACKS - ELESENSE - UNSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENCROACHMENT IN INDIAN FORESTS ARE PUSHING ENDANGERED ASIAN ELEPHANTS TOWARD EXTINCTION, WITH 18-20 DYING ANNUALLY IN TRAIN COLLISIONS ALONE. WEST BENGAL, THE FOURTH MOST DENSELY POPULATED STATE, IS A DEADLY HOTSPOT, RANKING SECOND IN ELEPHANT DEATHS ON TRAIN TRACKS. TO ADDRESS THIS CRISIS, VOICES FOR ASIAN ELEPHANTS AND PARTNERS LAUNCHED ELESENSE, A SENSOR-BASED EARLY WARNING SYSTEM THAT PREVENTED NEARLY 1,600 TRAIN COLLISIONS BETWEEN JANUARY 2023 AND AUGUST 2025. INSTALLED NEAR TRACKS CUTTING THROUGH FORESTS, IT ALERTS TRAIN PILOTS OF ELEPHANT PRESENCE WITHIN 750 METERS, ALLOWING SAFE BRAKING AND DETERRING ELEPHANTS FROM DANGER ZONES. ELESENSE IS NOW BEING EXPANDED INTO CRITICAL HABITATS LIKE BUXA TIGER RESERVE AND CHAPRAMARI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY. THIS INDIGENOUS-DESIGNED INNOVATION IS TRANSFORMING CONSERVATION, SAFEGUARDING ELEPHANTS, AND PROMOTING PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE.