The wildlife sanctuary has elephants, barking deer, sloth bear and porcupines as the main inhabitants.
Famous for holding many elephants and other animals, which come downhill during the monsoons and winter and enter nearby villages and towns of Jharkhand and West Bengal.
This occasionally leads to conflicts between man and elephants.
The animal population has severely declined because of the sinister practice of Desua Sangar which is a carnage of wild animals in summer under some animist religious garb and also due to the severely depleted forest cover.

Dalma is known as paradise for elephant.
The flagship species elephant count goes to 100 in number in the peak of summer where the waterholes deep inside the sanctuary quench their thirst.
Recently brought four elephants are also one of the attraction points for the tourists.
In past there used to be good number of deers in the sanctuary.
With the decline in number of deers an enclosure was established with an object to breed in captivity and then release the excess deers into wild to regain the past glory.
The deer enclosures at Makulakocha have spotted deers and sambhars.
The enclosure is located in such a site that the spotted deers and sambars sustain with the feelingof natural habitat.

Beside elephants there are Indian giant squirrel, sloth bear, barking deer, wild boar, porcupine, mouse deer, pangolin and mongooses in the sanctuary.
Commonly seen birds in the sanctuary are the falcons, golden oriole, Indian tree pie, paradise fly catchers, grey hornbills, Indian peafowl, different varieties of king fishers, herons, egrets, mynas, pigeons, racket tailed drongo, magpie robins etc.

As per the 2019 census report , The waterhole census carried out in Dalma on May 21 and 22 at 43 waterholes spotted 66 elephants, a clear sign that elephants have once again started considering Dalma as a safe and conducive habitat.
The census had found the number of elephants dropping to 48 from 95, as recorded in 2017.
The number wild bears has gone up to 19 this year from last year’s 13, wild boars to 162 from 152, porcupines to 79 from 63, langurs to 40 from 38, monkeys to 552 from 496, reed squirrels to 45 from 39, peacocks to 120 from 53, rabbits to 24 from 18, snakes to 13 from 4, Jackals to 9 from 3 and jungle fowls going up to 137 this year from 71 last year.
The wildlife sanctuary has elephants, barking deer, sloth bear and porcupines as the main inhabitants. Famous for holding many elephants and other animals, which come downhill during the monsoons and winter and enter nearby villages and towns of Jharkhand and West Bengal. This occasionally leads to conflicts between man and elephants. The animal population has severely declined because of the sinister practice of Desua Sangar which is a carnage of wild animals in summer under some animist religious garb and also due to the severely depleted forest cover.
Dalma is known as paradise for elephant. The flagship species elephant count goes to 100 in number in the peak of summer where the waterholes deep inside the sanctuary quench their thirst. Recently brought four elephants are also one of the attraction points for the tourists. In past there used to be good number of deers in the sanctuary. With the decline in number of deers an enclosure was established with an object to breed in captivity and then release the excess deers into wild to regain the past glory. The deer enclosures at Makulakocha have spotted deers and sambhars. The enclosure is located in such a site that the spotted deers and sambars sustain with the feelingof natural habitat.
Beside elephants there are Indian giant squirrel, sloth bear, barking deer, wild boar, porcupine, mouse deer, pangolin and mongooses in the sanctuary. Commonly seen birds in the sanctuary are the falcons, golden oriole, Indian tree pie, paradise fly catchers, grey hornbills, Indian peafowl, different varieties of king fishers, herons, egrets, mynas, pigeons, racket tailed drongo, magpie robins etc.
As per the 2019 census report , The waterhole census carried out in Dalma on May 21 and 22 at 43 waterholes spotted 66 elephants, a clear sign that elephants have once again started considering Dalma as a safe and conducive habitat. The census had found the number of elephants dropping to 48 from 95, as recorded in 2017. The number wild bears has gone up to 19 this year from last year’s 13, wild boars to 162 from 152, porcupines to 79 from 63, langurs to 40 from 38, monkeys to 552 from 496, reed squirrels to 45 from 39, peacocks to 120 from 53, rabbits to 24 from 18, snakes to 13 from 4, Jackals to 9 from 3 and jungle fowls going up to 137 this year from 71 last year.
Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary