Importance of elephant conservation

• In the 1930’s/1940’s there were 3-5 million African elephants ranging across most of the African continent.
• Currently there are an estimated 450,000 – 700,000 African elephants left in the world.
• Elephant populations are confined to well-protected areas, which form only a fraction of total elephant range. Most range states do not have adequate capacity to protect and manage their herds.
• Elephant distribution is becoming increasingly fragmented across the continent.

 If conservation action is not forthcoming, elephants may become locally extinct in some parts of Africa within 50 years.- WWF (2014)

Currently African elephants are under the status of “Vulnerable” but as ivory demand increases in Asia, populations of African elephants are being threatened by poachers.