DNA Profiling Of Elephants : 30 Years Of Project Elephant
Announcing the 30-year celebration of ‘Project Elephant’ recently officials from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said that the DNA profiling of 270 of the 2,675 captive elephants in the country has been completed.
- The DNA profiling was started in August 2022 for Gaj Soochna Mobile Application for forest officials.
- DNA profiling is the process where a specific DNA pattern, called a profile, is obtained from a sample of bodily tissue.
- Project Elephant was launched in 1992 as a Centrally-Sponsored Scheme to protect elephants and improve their habitat and corridors, reduce Human-elephant conflict and ensure their welfare.
- Under this project, financial and technical support is given to wildlife management efforts by states for their free-ranging populations of wild Asian Elephants.
- Project elephant is mainly implemented in 16 States.
- Conservation status of Asian Elephant
- IUCN: Endangered
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.
- CITES: Appendix I