The Great Elephant Census—the largest wildlife survey in history—was an African-wide census designed to provide accurate data about the number and distribution of African elephants by using standardized aerial surveys of hundreds of thousands of square miles or terrain in Africa. The census was completed and published in the online journal ''

PeerJ ''PeerJ'' is an open access peer-reviewed scientific mega journal covering research in the biological and medical sciences. It is published by a company of the same name that was co-founded by CEO Jason Hoyt (formerly at Mendeley) and publisher ...

'' on 31 August 2016 at a cost of US$7 million.

History

Scientists believe that there were as many as 20 million African elephants two centuries ago. By 1979, only 600,000 elephants remained on the continent. A pan-African elephant census has not been conducted since the 1970s. The idea of a modern census was devised by Elephants Without Borders and supported, both financially and logistically, by

Paul G. Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which h ...

. It was also supported by other organizations and individuals, including African Parks,

Frankfurt Zoological Society Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) is an international conservation organization founded in 1858 with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. FZS focuses on maintaining biodiversity and conserving wildlife and ecosystems in protected areas an ...

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

, IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, Howard Frederick, Mike Norton-Griffith, Kevin Dunham, Chris Touless, and Curtice Griffin with the report released in September 2016. Mike Chase, the founder of Elephants Without Borders, was the lead scientist of the census. Chase lead a group of 90 scientists and 286 crew in 18 African countries for over two years to collect the data. During this time the team flew a distance of over , equivalent to flying to the moon and a quarter of the way back, in over 10,000 hours of collecting data. The area covered represents 93% of the elephants known range.

Forest Elephant The African forest elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis'') is one of the two living African elephant species. It is native to humid forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a shoulde ...

s which live in central and western Africa were excluded from the survey.

Report

The final report was released on 31 August 2016 in Honolulu at the IUCN World Conservation Congress. Data collected showed a 30 percent decline in the population of African savanna elephant in 15 of the 18 countries surveyed. The reduction occurred between 2007 and 2014, representing a loss of approximately 144,000 elephants. The total population of Africa's savannah elephants is 352,271, far lower than previously estimated. Three countries with significant elephant population were not surveyed;

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

which would not release figures and both

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

and the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

where the survey was postponed as a result of armed conflict. The rate of decline in the population is also accelerating and reached 8% in 2014. The loss of population is primarily a result of

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

with the elephants being killed for their

tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share c ...

s. The

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

is then illegally sold in China and the United States. It is estimated approximately 100 elephants are killed every day for ivory. Loss of

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is another reason for the drastic reduction in population. 84% of the population was sighted in legally protected areas, and high numbers of carcasses also being found in the same protected areas.

References

{{Vulcan Inc. Elephant conservation Conservation projects 2016 censuses Biological censuses