The Elephant Population Estimation 2024 revealing a stable elephant population in Assam is good news, but the challenges of Human Elephant Conflict (HEC) in the state are far from over. The synchronised elephant population estimation 2024 conducted by the Assam Forest Department across 43 forest divisions found the final count of elephants in the state to be 5828 compared to 5719 counted during the previous estimation in 2017. Of the 43 divisions, ten divisions, however, did not report any elephant sighting during the estimation period. The estimation brought to light that protected areas—national parks and wildlife sanctuaries—account for 68% of the elephant population, and managed forests account for 30.4% of the population, which highlights the importance of protection and conservation of forest areas in the state to protect the elephant habitats. The revenue areas outside the forest areas, according to the estimation report, recorded only 1.6% of the total elephant population but are just the tip of the iceberg and indicate how worse the HEC can get if there is the slightest increase in this percentage. These areas that include agricultural fields, tea estates, community-owned lands, and village outskirts where elephants often stray in search of food and water., although not traditionally considered elephant habitats, are becoming increasingly crucial in understanding human-elephant interactions and mitigating, states the report. The five elephant reserves account for nearly 81.5% of the elephant population in the state, highlighting the crucial role of these reserves in “providing secure habitats and mitigating human-elephant conflicts. However, the elephant reserves and corridors lacking any legal protection is a critical gap in achieving the long-term conservation goals. The census found that 18.5% of the elephant population is located outside the elephant reserves. A key observation made in the report is that the presence of elephants in revenue areas underscores the need for targeted conflict mitigation strategies to address increasing human-elephant interactions, putting into perspective the importance of elephant conservation initiatives focusing on reducing the negative interactions to sustain the conservation efforts. The army cantonment at Narengi in Guwahati, reporting 13 elephants during the estimation period, has sounded the alarm bell on the emergence of new HEC hotspots on account of the fragmentation and degradation of elephant habitat in the forest areas on the fringe of revenue areas. Securing the buffer zones between forest areas and revenue areas, getting top priority, is crucial for preventing the development of new HEC hotspots and preventing the expansion of the existing ones. Eviction of unauthorised settlements in forest areas must be followed up with strengthening forest guarding and monitoring to prevent re-encroachment. Proposals seeking forest diversion for linear infrastructure projects like highways and railways and for setting up industries in the state need to be subjected to rigorous examination to avoid fragmentation of key elephant habitats and corridors. Unfortunately, this aspect is often overlooked to push these development projects. Once a highway or railway comes up, the areas along these attract human settlement, which gradually expands into forest areas, and this is how negative human-elephant interaction starts. Despite recording a robust and stable elephant population, the report harps on the conservation challenge from poaching. It highlights that “the high proportion of Makhna in Assam reflects a phenomenon observed across parts of northeastern India, where selective pressures from poaching have favoured the survival of tuskless males.” The estimation found the male elephant population structure is dominated by Makhnas (64.5%), followed by Tuskers (32.8%). Key recommendations made in the report, which deserves urgent attention of the government, are: enhancing protection measures through strengthening of anti-poaching efforts, especially in low-density areas and vulnerable corridors, through increased patrolling and strategic deployment of forest personnel; improvement of habitat quality within protected areas, and connectivity between fragmented habitats across elephant reserves and adjoining forest areas to facilitate safe movement and reduce the risk of isolation, identification of all the elephant corridors and notifying those to secure long-term movement pathways for the species, to reduce the risk of habitat fragmentation and ensure safe passage and adoption of advanced methodologies such as radio telemetry to study movement patterns, enhance habitat use data, and adapt management strategies for effective conservation as part of long-term monitoring and research. The estimation findings have generated conservation hopes, but there is little room for complacency as HEC has intensified with large elephant herds devouring standing paddy crops, destroying dwelling houses along their passage, and also trampling people to death, while incidents of poaching of tuskers, miscreants poisoning elephants to death, train-hit killing migrating elephants, juvenile elephants, and calves getting stuck in mud pits in human settlements are also on the rise. Using the estimation findings containing detailed information about elephant population in each forest division, significant findings about the current health status of different habitats, elephant population structure, etc., to update HEC mitigation strategies requires a strong policy push and funding support by the government.