As living room runs out in India, the death rate of its elephants escalates

India has lost nearly 2,330 elephants or 10% of the population since the last elephant census in 2012, from around 30,000 in 2012, the figure dropped to 27,312 in 2017

"O mor hai hastir kanyare (O daughter of the elephant)”--Leena Mahato often hums this Assamese folk anthem about a Brahmin’s wife who is expelled from home but finds shelter among elephants and is crowned the queen of the herd. Leena’s mother comes from the Rabha tribe of the northeast, known for its skilled mahouts, and she grew up on stories of the close bond between elephants and men.

Clad in a grey mekhala-chador (an Assamese saree ensemble), 32-year-old Leena knows that this idyllic world is long gone, as living space runs out for India’s