Elephant population up by 346 in Karnataka, says Forest Minister

Vartha Bharati | 09-08-2023 | 18:46:00 IST

Representational Image | PC: IANS

Bengaluru, Aug 09: Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Wednesday said the elephant population in the state has increased by 346. Releasing the elephant census report conducted in May this year, he said in 2017 census, there were 6,049 elephants in the state and now there are 6,395 pachyderms.

''Although elephants are mighty wildlife species, they are under threat worldwide, including in India. In order to protect the endangered animal, the World Elephant Day is being celebrated on August 12 to create awareness about conservation of their habitat so that they can also live comfortably,'' the minister said at a press conference here. According to Khandre, the elephant census is conducted every five years and the previous census was held in 2017.

In 2022, an attempt was made to take survey part of the All India Tiger Census but it did not include sample block count and population structure assessment of elephants. This method is very important for census and numerical classification of the jumbos (sex and age), he said. The minister said the elephant census was conducted from May 17 to May 19 this year simultaneously by Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A similar census was conducted in Andhra Pradesh on the same period, he said.

The census was carried out by the Karnataka Forest Department with the technical assistance of the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) headed by Prof R Sukumar, who guided in preparing the format of the census, training the field staff, analysis of census results and report preparation, he said. According to Khandre, more than 3,400 personnel from 32 divisions of the state participated in this elephant census, which was undertaken in three ways – direct enumeration or block enumeration, transect survey or dung count method, and waterhole counting. The census was conducted in 32 divisions of the state and pachyderms were found in 23 divisions. The total number of elephants enumerated directly on the day of survey was 2,219. It was conducted in 6,104 sq km area out of 18,975 sq km area in these 23 divisions, he explained.

''Since this is the first time such a large area has been surveyed, this survey and report are highly accurate and reliable,'' the minister said.

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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation

09-05-2026 ¦ 09-05-2026 IST

Image Credit: X/@realmadrid

Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.

The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.

On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."

His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.

In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”

Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”

Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.

After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.

“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.

“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”

Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.

Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.

Chaotic end to a poor season

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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.

It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.

Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.

Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.