There are three species of elephant, the African savanna elephant, African forest elephant and the Asian elephant.
With the African species, Forest elephants have declined 86% between 1986 and 2015, African Bush elephants declined 60% 1965 and 2015 leaving just over 400,000.
One of the other issues with poaching is that elephants are very intelligent, and can communicate over long distances. As a result if for instance an elephant is killed in the north of the Kruger, elephants hundreds of miles south will become far more aggressive towards humans and cars. This in turn reduces the number of tourists that are willing to visit the reserve.
Perhaps one encouraging fact, is that the African savannah elephant has enough space for a far larger population if only poaching can come to an end. It is also a simple fact, that any reserve with elephants (like lions) can attract visitors- provided it is well run.
Kahuzi-Biega National Park was established in 1937 by the Belgium colonial rulers and then expanded in 1975. It now covers 6000 square km or 2300
In Zimbabwe, elephants started dropping dead, no-one knew why. This has now been solved, but were not any nearer to ending the problem, and now
One of the problems with cutting down rainforest, it often what is left is so fragmented that it is useless for conservation. Remaining blocks of
The African savannah elephant has declined by 60% over the last 50 years, and the African forest elephant has declined by 86% over the last
The big 5 is a tool that safari operators continue to use. It does not make much sense as this term is a hunting term.