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.
In many countries around the world, some conservation success can lead to problems. In Africa halting elephant poaching can lead to rocketing populations, which in
Ivory, sometimes known as white gold is a real problem. Often valued as much as gold, the rewards for killing a wild elephant can amount
Unfortunately, in many parts of the world wild animals and humans are coming closer and closer in where they live. Due to our wasteful lifestyle,
From the top to the bottom, there are members of the force that are fighting to stop the wildlife trade, which are perpetuating it and
According to the latest census, the elephant population of the Selous is now over 15,000! which sounds fantastic. Of course, you have to remember that
For the first time the population of elephants in addo elephant park in South Africa has been counted from space using computer learning. The satellite
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