Continent-wide survey reveals massive decline in African savannah elephants

PeerJ

Paul W. Elkan¹  Falk Grossman¹  Alexis Peltier²  Sintayehu W. Djene³  Philippe J.C. Bouché⁴  Curtice R. Griffin⁵  S.A. Jeanetta Selier⁶  Patrick Omondi⁷  Kelly Landen⁸  Robert Sutcliffe⁸  Michael J. Chase⁸  Scott Schlossberg⁸  Edward Mtarima Kohi⁹  Sam Ferreira^1,10 

[1] Africa Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY, USA;Air Adventures (Africa) Ltd, Nairobi, Kenya;College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia;Department of Biosystems Engineering, Forest Resource Management, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium;Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States;Division of Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa;Division of Species Conservation & Management, Kenya Wildlife Service, Nairobi, Kenya;Elephants Without Borders, Kasane, Botswana;Mahale-Gombe Wildlife Research Centre, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Kigoma, Tanzania;Scientific Services, South African National Parks, Skukuza, South Africa;

关键词: African elephant;    Conservation;    Aerial survey;    Population decline;    Population trend;    Carcass ratio;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.2354

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are imperiled by poaching and habitat loss. Despite global attention to the plight of elephants, their population sizes and trends are uncertain or unknown over much of Africa. To conserve this iconic species, conservationists need timely, accurate data on elephant populations. Here, we report the results of the Great Elephant Census (GEC), the first continent-wide, standardized survey of African savannah elephants. We also provide the first quantitative model of elephant population trends across Africa. We estimated a population of 352,271 savannah elephants on study sites in 18 countries, representing approximately 93% of all savannah elephants in those countries. Elephant populations in survey areas with historical data decreased by an estimated 144,000 from 2007 to 2014, and populations are currently shrinking by 8% per year continent-wide, primarily due to poaching. Though 84% of elephants occurred in protected areas, many protected areas had carcass ratios that indicated high levels of elephant mortality. Results of the GEC show the necessity of action to end the African elephants’ downward trajectory by preventing poaching and protecting habitat.

【 授权许可】

Unknown