According to conservationists, Africa’s forest elephants are on the brink of extinction, with their numbers dropping by 86 percent over the past 30 years.
Savanna elephants are also experiencing a sharp decline, with a 60 percent reduction in the past 50 years.
These figures were highlighted in the latest update to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) ‘Red List’ of threatened species.
The list reveals worsening conditions for elephants across Africa, primarily due to decades of poaching and habitat loss.
Forest elephants are now classified as “critically endangered,” just one step away from extinction, while savanna elephants have been reclassified as “endangered.”
Previously, both species were assessed as a single species and considered vulnerable but not endangered.
IUCN’s chief, Bruno Oberle, emphasized these animals’ ongoing challenges. “Today’s new IUCN Red List assessments of both African elephant species underline the persistent pressures these iconic animals face,” he stated.
In the 1970s, Africa was home to around 1.5 million elephants, but a major survey in 2016 estimated only about 415,000 remained.
“These are sharp declines,” said Benson Okita-Ouma of Save the Elephants, who also co-chairs the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group. He noted that although the next full assessment of elephant populations is expected in 2022 or 2023, the existing data should sound “alarm bells.”
While elephants are not at risk of disappearing overnight, Okita-Ouma stressed that the latest assessments are an early warning: “Unless we change course, these animals are at risk of extinction.” He called it “a wake-up call to the entire globe” about the steep decline in elephant viability.
Following new genetic research, experts now agree on classifying African forest and savanna elephants as separate species.
Forest elephants inhabit the tropical forests of Central Africa and various regions in West Africa but now occupy only a quarter of their historic range.
The largest populations are found in Gabon and the Republic of Congo. In contrast, savanna elephants thrive in open landscapes and diverse habitats across sub-Saharan Africa.
Both species have faced severe declines since 2008, primarily due to a surge in ivory poaching that peaked in 2011 and continues to pose a threat.
Okita-Ouma expressed further concerns about habitat destruction driven by expanding agriculture and other land uses, warning that improper land-use planning could indirectly harm elephants even if poaching is curbed.
Despite the bleak overall trend, the report highlighted positive outcomes from conservation efforts. Some forest elephant populations have stabilized in well-managed protected areas in Gabon and the Republic of Congo. In contrast, savanna elephant numbers have been stable or increasing in the Kavango-Zambezi transfrontier conservation area, which spans five southern African countries.
“Several African countries have led the way in recent years, proving that we can reverse elephant declines,” said Oberle. “We must work together to ensure their example can be followed.”
Okita-Ouma also noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted conservation, with many countries losing tourism revenue that funds protection efforts.
However, reducing human activity during lockdowns has allowed elephants to reclaim areas they were previously pushed out of, providing a glimpse of hope for these threatened animals.
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