Abstract
African forest elephants– taxonomically and functionally unique–are being poached at accelerating rates, but we lack range-wide information on the repercussions. Analysis of the largest survey dataset ever assembled for forest elephants (80 foot-surveys; covering 13,000 km; 91,600 person-days of fieldwork) revealed that population size declined by ca. 62% between 2002–2011, and the taxon lost 30% of its geographical range. The population is now less than 10% of its potential size, occupying less than 25% of its potential range. High human population density, hunting intensity, absence of law enforcement, poor governance, and proximity to expanding infrastructure are the strongest predictors of decline. To save the remaining African forest elephants, illegal poaching for ivory and encroachment into core elephant habitat must be stopped. In addition, the international demand for ivory, which fuels illegal trade, must be dramatically reduced.
Highlights
The basic information required for effective conservation management of a species includes population status and distribution, identification and prioritization of threats, and trends in all of the above [1]
We present the analysis of eighty surveys carried out over the nine-year period between 2002–2011 across the Central African forest block
Elephants have been recently extirpated from extensive areas of Africa [30,34,46,47,48] and even sites thought to be well-protected are no longer safe from ivory poaching [32]
Summary
The basic information required for effective conservation management of a species includes population status and distribution, identification and prioritization of threats, and trends in all of the above [1] These metrics are the basis by which the IUCN Red List assesses the conservation status of species [2], and conservation policymakers and managers in the field decide on the management strategies which best serve the taxon in question. These requirements are notoriously difficult to ascertain and, lacking for numerous species including one of the world’s largest terrestrial mammals, the African forest elephant. The AfESG do, stress that it is important to recognize the different challenges to the conservation of forest and savannah elephants [3,16]
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