GPS study on elephant movements aims to mitigate conflicts in Assam

The study generated more than 38,000 GPS (Global Positioning System) locations, providing high-resolution data on seasonal elephant movements across multi-use landscapes. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

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’.

“The study will help guide conservation planning, strengthen wildlife-friendly infrastructure and support safer coexistence between people and wildlife across Assam,” Assam’s Forest Minister, Jayanta Mallabaruah, said after releasing the report on the occasion of the 72nd Wildlife Week on Tuesday (October 6, 2026).