They’re the largest animals walking the Earth and possess a remarkable level of human-like intelligence and emotional awareness.
But scientists warn that African elephants – which wander through 37 countries in the huge continent – are heading for extinction.
A new study, led by wildlife experts at Colorado State University in the US, analysed 53 years of elephant survey data going back to the 1960s.
It found large-scale declines in both species of African elephants – the African forest elephant (L. cyclotis) and the larger African bush elephant (L. africana).
In just over half a century, forest elephant populations have fallen by 90 per cent on average, while savanna elephant populations declined by 70 per cent.
In combination, populations declined by 77 per cent on average
And the reasons for plummeting populations are largely human-caused – namely, poaching, retaliatory killing for crop raiding and habitat fragmentation.
Tragically, males are still being targeted by trophy hunters and ivory dealers for their precious tusks.
An elephant family comforts their calf during an afternoon nap under a tree in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya
Pictured, savanna elephants are surveyed by spotters in planes. The new study – described as the most comprehensive assessment of African elephants to date – found large-scale declines in African elephants
Study author George Wittemyer, a professor at Colorado State University’s wildlife department, said ‘the overall story is one of decline’ – even though herds have grown stronger in some places.
‘This paper shows the scale of the declines and how widespread they are across the continent,’ Professor Wittemyer said.
‘It shines a light on how quickly even something as big and noticeable as elephants can just disappear.’
It’s estimated that there are 415,000 elephants across Africa, while a century ago there may have been as many as 3-5 million.
The new study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, compiled survey data from 475 sites in 37 African countries between 1964 and 2016.
According to the researchers, there have been large-scale declines in most populations of both species over the 53-year period.
Out of the 150 forest elephant sites, 140 have showed a population decline since 1964, while 235 out of 325 savanna elephant sites have seen numbers fall.
In the war-torn Sahel region of northern Africa, elephant populations overall have been ‘decimated’ as their habitats are destroyed.
The African savannah elephant, the largest land mammal in the world, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). A mature male African savannah elephant may stand up to 13 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh 14,000 pounds
Eastern and central Africa generally saw declines from ivory poaching as well as from human population growth and conversion of their land into buildings.
‘Elephants in Democratic Republic of Congo has not faired well over the time,’ Professor Wittemyer told MailOnline.
‘Kenya, Sudan, and even Tanzania have all lost elephants in East Africa.’
Wildlife authorities in Kenya shoot between 50 and 120 problem elephants each year, according to the WWF.
However, African elephant populations are not declining across the whole of the continent, the researchers found.
In fact, in some sites, elephant populations have increased or remained stable.
Both species are thriving in parts of southern Africa, particularly in Botswana, where populations have been protected and sustainably managed.
Meanwhile, Pendjari National Park in Benin is a rare example of where forest elephants are increasing in western Africa.
Unfortunately, populations of African elephants have plummeted over the last century due to poaching, retaliatory killing for crop raiding and habitat fragmentation. Pictured, an elephant family forages together during the rainy season
Pictured, a mother elephant leads her calf away from danger in northern Kenya, a country where elephant populations have been negatively impacted
Sadly, elephants often trigger anger among locals who share their land with the creatures, largely because they raid and destroy crops.
But because they are being squeezed into smaller and smaller areas due to habitat infringement, crops are further threatened, making matters worse.
The study is described as the most ‘comprehensive assessment of African elephants to date’.
However, the researchers admit there were gaps in their data set, partly because it’s still a big challenge to monitor elephant populations in Africa.
Currently, the most common survey technique for elephant populations in savannah environments is aerial counts from manned aircraft.
But observers on aerial surveys can get exhausted, be hindered by poor visibility and even succumb to bias and corruption.
Drones aren’t yet capable of the long flights over remote areas necessary to survey elephants, and processing drone imagery is costly and resource intensive.
To fill the gaps, authors had to use places with good information to estimate population change for nearby places with less information, while looking at site-based trends to give an overall picture.
According to the team, identifying regions where elephant populations have increased could help stakeholders enforce effective conservation actions.
‘From the successes, we can learn how to better protect elephants across their range,’ they say in their paper.
‘This work provides the most comprehensive assessment undertaken on the two African elephant species, illustrating the variability in their status across populations.’
