African forest elephant now critically endangered

Populations have been declining for several decades due to poaching for ivory and loss of habitat.

CAPE TOWN, March 29 (ANA) – The African forest elephant has been listed as critically endangered and the African savannah elephant as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

According to a statement issued by the IUCN recently, populations have been declining for several decades due to poaching for ivory and loss of habitat.

IUCN director general Dr Bruno Oberle said that Africa’s elephants play key roles in ecosystems, economies and in our collective imagination all over the world.

“The IUCN Red List assessments of both African elephant species underline the persistent pressures faced by these iconic animals,” added Oberle.

He said that we urgently need to put an end to poaching and to ensure that sufficient suitable habitat for both forest and savannah elephants is conserved.

He said several African countries have led the way in recent years, proving that we can reverse elephant declines, and that everyone must work together to ensure their example can be followed.

According to the findings in the report, the number of African forest elephants fell by more than 86% over a period of 31 years, while the population of African savannah elephants decreased by at least 60% over the past 50 years.

Both species suffered sharp declines since 2008 due to a significant increase in poaching, which peaked in 2011 but continues to threaten populations, revealed the report.

The assessments also highlighted the impact of successful conservation efforts.

According to the report, anti-poaching measures along with more supportive legislation and land use planning which seeks to foster human-wildlife coexistence have been key to successful elephant conservation, said the IUCN.

Dr Dave Balfour, assessor of the African elephants and member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) African Elephant Specialist Group, said while the results of the assessment place the continental population of savannah elephants in the “endangered” category, it is important to note that, at a site level, some sub-populations are thriving.

The IUCN Red List now includes 134,425 species of which 37,480 are threatened with extinction.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher