The future of African elephants has been painted bright following two key decisions that were made in the last few weeks that will have major implications for the survival of the giant mammals.
Of the two key decisions, the first is that a global body devoted to the conservation of elephants in Africa recognised the African elephant as two species: forest and savanna. Previously they had been considered a single species. This is key in that their individual populations are smaller than when recognised as a single species, and because they face shared as well as unique threats.
And secondly, last month, the International Union for Conservation of Nature updated its Red List, and moved African elephants into more threatened classifications. As a single species, African elephants were previously listed as “Vulnerable”, because there had been a reduction of more than 30% of the population in the past three generations.
However, the conservation body has now listed forest elephants as “Critically Endangered” – a category for species that have declined over 80% within three generations. And it has listed savanna elephants as “Endangered” – a decline of over 50% within three generations.
Highlighting the African forest elephant as a distinct species and listing it as “Critically Endangered” will change how these animals are studied and conserved. Ecologists and conservationists can focus on understanding their unique ecology and addressing the specific threats they face from human pressure.
The new assessment of forest elephants used results of over 300 surveys going back to 1974. Estimated population decline was 86% between 1990 and 2015, putting forest elephants squarely into the “Critically Endangered” category.
The decline of forest elephants has been driven by ivory poaching. This has affected both forest and savanna elephants for centuries, but has been greatly exacerbated by the introduction of modern weapons and, in the last 30 years or so, the rise in the price of ivory.
However, forest elephants are elusive and live in remote, often inaccessible habitat. This means they’ve received little attention compared to savanna elephants. Their new endangered status highlights the need for conservation management that fits with their unique ecology and habitat requirements.
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