The future survival of African elephants: implications for conservation

Abstract

In 2007 the elephant population in Africa was estimated at between 470,000 and 690,000. However, this population is rapidly decreasing. Today, African elephants are highly endangered and are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. In this review, we outline the major factors affecting the future survival of elephants. We identify elephant poaching in Central Africa as the primary cause of elephants’ decline, and this issue has duly received the majority of attention from conservationists and policy-makers. However, poaching is not the only factor: climate change, habitat loss, and human-elephant conflict also have an adverse impact, and all have received relatively little attention due to the predominant focus on poaching.