Guwahati: A five-year GPS tracking study by the Assam Forest Department and WWF-India has shed light on the movement patterns and habitat use of wild elephants across forests, tea plantations, agricultural areas and riverine landscapes in Assam.
Between 2021 and 2026, researchers fitted GPS collars on four female-led elephant herds and one solitary male in Udalguri, Sonitpur and Biswanath districts, all areas affected by human-elephant conflict.
The study generated more than 38,000 GPS locations, providing detailed data on seasonal elephant movements across landscapes shared by wildlife and people.
The findings have been compiled in a report titled Tracking the Giants: Movement and Habitat-Use Patterns of GPS-Collared Elephants in Assam, which was released on Tuesday by Assam environment and forest minister Jayanta Mallabaruah during the 72nd Wildlife Week event in Guwahati.
The report 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 important elephant habitats for much of the year. However, the home ranges of female-led herds expanded during the paddy cropping season, which also coincided with increased human-elephant conflict.
The study found that tea plantations functioned as significant movement pathways and secondary habitats, bringing elephants into close proximity with human settlements.
Researchers also observed elephants using river channels to move north-south between forests in the Himalayan foothills and the grasslands, or chaporis, along the Brahmaputra. The finding provides new insights into elephant movement routes across the landscape.
Several of the identified movement routes intersected roads, railway lines and settlements, highlighting the need for mitigation measures to reduce risks to both people and elephants.
The study also recorded transboundary movement between Udalguri district in Assam and the adjoining Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan during the dry season.
The researchers said the finding underscored the need for greater coordination between India and Bhutan to conserve elephant habitats and wildlife corridors.
“ This report fills a major knowledge gap in terms of elephant presence and movement in the state. The findings of this five-year study provide important baseline information on elephant ranging patterns, particularly where they overlap with human land use,” said Vinay Gupta, principal chief conservator of forests-wildlife and chief wildlife warden, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, Assam.
“This information is crucial because it helps inform conservation strategies and strengthen human-elephant coexistence measures,” he added.
Aritra Kshettry, lead for the Elephant Conservation Programme at WWF-India, said the GPS telemetry study had helped identify core natural and secondary habitats used by the collared elephants and revealed strong seasonal patterns in their movements.
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The findings, he said, could help improve the management of human-elephant conflict by providing a clearer understanding of where elephants move, how they use different habitats and land-use types, and how these patterns change across seasons.
The report is expected to support landscape-level conservation planning, habitat and corridor protection, and measures aimed at reducing human-elephant conflict in Assam.
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