Elephant at risk of extinction

The African forest elephant has now been listed as critically endangered at a time when poaching for ivory and loss of habitat is increasing.

The jumbo was listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which also cited the African savanna elephant as endangered on its Red List of threatened species.

Initially, the elephant was listed as ‘vulnerable’ as a single species. Out of 134,425 species, IUCN says 37,480 are at risk of extinction.

“Africa’s elephants play key roles in ecosystems, economies and in our collective imagination all over the world. Today’s new IUCN Red List assessments of both African elephant species underline the persistent pressures faced by these iconic animals,” said Dr Bruno Oberle, the IUCN Director-General.

According to him, governments must urgently end poaching and ensure there is “sufficient suitable habitat for both forest and savanna elephants”  through conservation.

The current data shows that there is a decline in African elephants across the continent. In just 31 years, the number of African forest elephant fell by more than 86 per cent, according to the IUCN assessment, while the African savanna elephant has decreased by at least 60 per cent in the past 50 years.

The species started declining sharply in 2008 due to poaching, which peaked in 2011. To date, poaching continues to further threaten the elephant population in Africa. And, conversions of habitats for agricultural and other land uses is worsening the situation, the IUCN stated.

The 2016 IUCN African Elephant Status Report shows there were around 415,000 elephants of the two species combined in the continent.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service, elephant population has more than doubled in the last 30 years, increasing from 16,000 in 1989 to 34,800 by the end of 2019.