Sat Jun 28 00:58:17 UTC 2025: **Summary:**

A Wildlife Institute of India (WII) study predicts that extensive coal mining in Odisha’s Angul district will result in the loss of roughly 390 sq km of elephant foraging ground and corridor. This habitat loss will exacerbate the already critical human-elephant conflict in the region. The study highlights that Odisha has a significant Asian elephant population, but Angul district’s importance for both elephants and coal resources creates a major conflict. The researchers urge reconsideration of planned coal mining in the region and suggest habitat connectivity restoration to mitigate the impacts.

**News Article:**

**Odisha’s Elephants Face Grave Threat from Coal Mining Expansion, Study Warns**

*Bhubaneswar, June 28, 2025* – A new study from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) paints a grim picture for Odisha’s elephant population, warning that massive coal mining operations in Angul district will lead to the loss of approximately 390 square kilometers of crucial elephant habitat. The research, published in WII’s “Trumpet” magazine, predicts a significant increase in human-elephant conflict as foraging grounds and corridors disappear.

Odisha is home to a substantial population of Asian elephants, holding 63% of the entire east-central population of India. However, Angul district, vital for elephants, is also a major coal resource area, accounting for 20% of India’s coal reserves.

“This loss of forest habitat, combined with the growing number of human deaths due to elephants in the Angul forest division, would result in an increase in conflict and be devastating for the elephant population in Odisha,” the study states.

The WII scholars used advanced geospatial analysis to map suitable elephant habitat in the region and found that it largely overlaps with proposed coal mining areas. They caution that existing coal mines already impede elephant movement.

The study urges a re-evaluation of plans to designate the entire coal belt of Angul district for mining. As an alternative, the researchers propose establishing habitat connectivity between Satkosia Tiger Reserve and Sambalpur, Deogarh divisions by restoring forests along the western border of Angul. Failure to act, the study concludes, could have catastrophic consequences for Odisha’s elephants.

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