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**Headline: Stressed Elephants: Fragmented Habitats Take a Toll on Indian Wildlife**

**Kolkata, September 28, 2025:** A recent study published in *Scientific Reports* reveals the detrimental impact of habitat fragmentation and human activity on Asian elephant populations in India. Researchers found that elephants living in highly fragmented landscapes, particularly in Central India (West Bengal), exhibit higher stress levels and reduced metabolic rates compared to those in the Northeast and South.

The study, led by Sanjeeta Sharma Pokharel, assessed physiological stress by measuring faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) levels (an indicator of stress) and metabolic states using faecal triiodothyronine (fT3) in elephant populations across Central and Northeastern India.

The results showed that elephants in the Central Indian landscape of Paschim Medinipur and Kharagpur forest division, characterized by greater habitat fragmentation and aggressive human intervention (including the use of “hula parties” to chase elephants away from crops), had significantly higher fGCM levels and lower fT3 levels. This indicates a compromised health status due to increased stress.

“Elephants living in more fragmented habitats in Central India had higher fGCM and lower fT3 levels compared to the Northeastern populations, as well as when compared (only fGCM levels) with a previously-studied Southern Indian elephant population,” the study pointed out.

The study further suggests that the higher stress levels in the Central Indian population were likely influenced more by the severe anthropogenic disturbance rather than dietary quality.

Raman Sukumar, a renowned elephant ecologist, was one of the contributors to the paper. The research team suggests that aggressive human responses to elephant crop raids, were clearly the highest in the Central population where people aggressively used ‘hula parties’ to chase elephants.

The findings highlight the urgent need for improved conservation strategies that address habitat fragmentation and mitigate human-elephant conflict to ensure the long-term well-being of these iconic animals.

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