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Data collected showed a 30 percent decline in the population of African savanna elephant in 15 of the 18 countries surveyed. [5] The reduction occurred between 2007 and 2014, representing a loss of approximately 144,000 elephants. [1] The total population of Africa's savannah elephants is 352,271, far lower than previously estimated. [1]
In 1979, Africa had an estimated population of at least 1.3 million elephants, possibly as high as 3.0 million. A decade later, the population was estimated to be 609,000; with 277,000 in Central Africa, 110,000 in Eastern Africa, 204,000 in Southern Africa, and 19,000 in Western Africa.
In 1979, the African elephant population was estimated to be around 1.3 million in 37 range states, but by 1989, only 600,000 remained. [8] [9] Although many ivory traders repeatedly claimed that the problem was habitat loss, it became glaringly clear that the threat was primarily the international ivory trade.
Hunting for ivory is responsible for significant reductions in elephant populations in several parts of Africa. Between 1979 and 1989, the African elephant population decreased from 1.3 million to 600,000. Ivory became a billion-dollar market, with about 80% of the supply taken from illegally killed elephants.
Kenya is suffering from a problem, albeit a good one: The elephant population in the 42-square-kilometer (16-square-mile) Mwea National Reserve, east of the capital Nairobi, has flourished from its capacity of 50 to a whopping 156, overwhelming the ecosystem and requiring the relocation of about 100 of the largest land animals.
According to the American hunter Craig Boddington, elephant hunting was made illegal in Kenya in 1973 and all animal hunting without a permit in 1977. [7] By the late 1970s, the elephant population was estimated around 275,000, dropping to 20,000 in 1989. [8] Between 1970 and 1977, Kenya lost more than half of its elephants. [9]
Southern African countries home to the largest elephant population in the world fear a rise in animal deaths in the coming months as food and water sources dwindle following a severe drought. The ...
In 1987, it was estimated that the African elephant population had declined to 760,000 individuals. In 1989, only 608,000 African elephants were estimated to have survived. [ 61 ] In 1989, the Kenyan Wildlife Service burned a stockpile of tusks in protest against the ivory trade.