Singh show a sharp fall in elephant numbers at Jharkhand's two major habitats Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary and Palamau Tiger Reserve. Perceived to be well-managed, the Dalma sanctuary delivered a shocker with 46 elephants, less than a third from 156 in 2012. On depleting elephants in Dalma, wildlife warden Singh said one of the immediate reasons was a 6.5km trench created by the Bengal government on the Jharkhand-Bengal border. "August onward, elephants from Dalma move to Bengal through familiar corridors. "The purpose behind this nationwide scientific census in summer was to assess home ranges of elephants and link them with habitat improvement.

Source: The Telegraph May 24, 2017 22:30 UTC