The Mighty African Elephant

The Mighty African Elephant
By: Amber Buzzard

About the Species

African Bush Elephant

Photo by Amber Buzzard

African Forest Elephant

Photo from World Wildlife Fund

{https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/forest-elephant}

The African Elephant is the biggest land mammal on the planet, weighing in at 2.5 to 7 tons! These giant creatures can live up to 70 years old and are herbivores eating various roots, tree bark, fruit, and grasses, and a lot of it! For them to maintain their ginormous bodies they have to eat up to 300 pounds of these various foods. Using their tusks and trunks to help them scrape off bark and dig for roots, as well as grabbing fruits out of reach for the typical animal. There

are two subspecies to the Loxodonta africana, African Elephant, and they are the African Bush /Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana africana) and the smaller Forest Elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis). The African Bush Elephant is much larger in size with their tusks curving more outward, where as the Forest Elephant is a bit darker and smaller with tusk that come more straight downward. These Elephants tend to form herds with a Matriarchal system among the groups. The mature females called cows, tend to roam in herd more than the adult males, cabulls, who roam typically on their own. For these animals having a calf, or baby, is a very big commitment, since their gestation is 22 months! These elephants have to carry their babies almost 2 years and maintain their health while supporting their baby. And these calves are not small, weighing in at around 300 lbs. at birth and standing 3 feet tall. They typically will have these calves every two to four years while their current calves have time to mature and grow bigger and stronger. Overall, these giants can grow very old and are very wise in the way that they aren’t just animals, they are beings that feel for their ancestors and family members. These Elephants are creatures that are truly magnificent and are a animal that everyone needs to see once in their life.

Geographical Range and Population Changes

Range of African Bush Elephant and the African Forest Elephant

{https://study.com/academy/lesson/african-elephants-facts-diet.html}

African Elephants are known for being able to roam 50 miles (80 Kilometers) a day, and with that being said, these mammals need a lot of roaming space. Sadly, their habitats have changed in the many years due to the creation of agricultural farms and human living in a lot of habitat space. In 1979, elephants had just over 3 million sq. mi. to roam, but since 2007 they have only about 1 million sq. mi. which is a significant decrease in less than 30 years. Also since 1979, elephants have lost over 50% of their range and less than 20% of their current range and habitat has formal protection. This loss in habitat along with other threats has caused a great decline in the population of elephants. Before CITES was initiated and banned the trade of ivory, the population of elephants was severely declining and from 1979 to 1989 half of all of Africa’s elephants were lost to the ivory trade. Once CITES came and placed a ban in the trade their population began to recover and in 2007 the population was estimated to be between 470,000 and 690,000. However, the demand for ivory, especially in Asia, has risen and cause a increase in poaching of elephants and now today populations are estimated to be 415,000. Which pales in comparison to the millions of elephants that roamed Africa in the decades before the trade of ivory.

Listing Date and Type of Listing

The African Elephant was first listed in 1986 as vulnerable and stayed listed as that until 1994. Then in 1996 elephants were listed as endangered due to the spike in poaching and the illegal trade of ivory from Africa to places in Asia. They remained listed as endangered until 2004 when they were moved to the vulnerable state once again.

Threats to the Species

Ivory Trade

One of the biggest threats to African Bush Elephants and Forest Elephants is the brutal and illegal trade of ivory. Elephants’ tusks 

are made from a very valuable resource for most Asian cultures, and this is ivory. Ivory is used and viewed as a sign of wealth in Asian cultures, especially in China where the biggest market for Ivory is located. Due to CITES and its ban on the international 

Ivory Burning at Nairobi National Park in Kenya

Photo by Ben Curtis, From the Article “Historic ivory burn covers the sky in smoke and ash”,

{https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/30/africa/kenya-ivory-burn/index.html}

trade of ivory in 1989, the populations of elephants begun to rise, but not soon after poachers began to hit back and affected the population of the African Forest Elephant greatly. Since then many of Africa’s elephants are being poached and some say nearly 100 a day with todays conditions. Since the decline of elephants due to poaching some nations have tried to take action. During the administration of President Obama, he and the Chinese President XI Jinping, called for a “near-complete” ban on the sale of ivory. The United States laws went into effect June 2016, but the Chinese’s law for shut down of all ivory carving and distribution went into effect December 31, 2017. Although what is thought to be the biggest market of ivory has been banned and named illegal, will we see a change in the number of elephants poached yearly? Another action taking place is the burning of ivory in the different countries of Africa. Many stock piles of ivory that has been attained by the arrest of poachers as well as dead elephants from Africa is being burned to show that these countries and governments have no tolerance for the killing of their elephants. In April of 2016, Nairobi National Park in Kenya set about 105 tons of ivory, 1.35 tons of rhino horn, along with exotic furs and skins on fire. This was their fourth burn in their country’s history as it shows their intolerance for poaching as the crisis worsens. To the officials and members, it is a way for them to send a message to the public and to bring the elephant crisis to the light. With all these conservation efforts taking place, the ultimate question is whether these actions will help the populations of elephants? Or will the species continue down the path of extinction?

Human-Elephant Conflict

The African Elephant not only has to worry about the ivory trade, but they have to worry about one of the biggest threat to most species, habitat loss and fragmentation. Loss of habitat is one of the main threats to all species worldwide, and is greatly aiding the decline in African Bush Elephants and African Forest Elephants populations. At one point in time these elephants could roam from the Mediterranean coast all the way down to the point of South Africa. However, with humans coming into play and building their lives in their environment, this has caused some tension between humans and elephants. Due to the advancing of agriculture, many of the rangelands and forest that were once inhabitable are now being cleared and made into farms for the growing population. This growing population of humans in these areas are contributing to habitat loss and fragmentation for the African Elephant, as well as bring human-elephant conflict. Many herds and groups of elephants who are used to roaming many miles a day are roaming off protected lands and coming across these farms. These elephants then come onto the farms and damage their crops and equipment, which put the livelihood of the farmers in danger. With that being said, these farmers are then killing many of these elephants in retaliation for destroying their farms. With the increase of human growth and advancement in agriculture, the land that elephants once roamed is being lost to farming and resulting in habitat loss and fragmentation.

African Elephants on a farm eating crops.

Photo by Annette Bonnier, From the article “Battling the human-elephant conflit: Dr Ananda Kumar”, {http://geographical.co.uk/nature/wildlife/item/1638-battling-the-human-elephant-conflict-dr-ananda-kumar-of-the-nature-conservation-foundation}

Recovery Plan

As for the recovery plans for these elephants, the International Union of Conservation of Nature (ICUN) has had a plan in action since 2010 with objectives in hoping to save and conserve African Elephant populations. Several of their objective include reducing the illegal trade of ivory and the poaching of elephants. Many government officials in Africa are cracking down and supporting this action with the financial help of the IUCN and stopping groups of poachers. Along with that, they are also focused on educating and increasing the awareness of conservation and management among policy makers, local communities, and interest groups. All if hopes of getting some political laws and regulations in place to help protect the African Elephant and ensure its survival. The IUCN also is looking to decrease conflict among humans and elephants, which is a leading threat to the continuation of the species. Not only is there specific plans in play, there are also many funds that help support the conservation efforts financially. For example, there is the African Elephant Foundation, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as well as the African Elephant Conservation Fund made by the US Fish and Wildlife. With these funds they actively support the range states of the African Elephant financially for protection activities. Many of these funds are easy to find online and can be donated to many times at the supporter’s convenience.

What Can You Do?

There are many things you as a person can do to help protect and stop the extinction of these African Elephants. For those who are extremely dedicated and passionate about stopping the trade of ivory and focused on conservation effort you can make a career out of them. You can become a politician and try to stop the trade and becoming more involved in the legal aspects to protect these animals. Or you can become a part of and help conservation efforts by joining non profits and conservation groups helping the elephants directly in the savanna and forests. However, if you aren’t able to dedicate your life and still want to help, the easiest thing you can do is donate to the funds set up to help these range states financially and support the many conservation activities that protect these giants. You can find these resources by going on the internet and looking up websites such as, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Save the Elephants, US Fish and Wildlife, and the IUCN. Many of these organizations have ways you can donate and support the efforts from home, such as how the WWF gives you the option of a monthly donation, or possibly sponsoring a park ranger, and even adopting an Elephant! Most importantly, you can educate others on what is going on with these elephants and maybe take part in a lifestyle where you don’t buy product that are actively causing habitat loss for the species. Overall, there are so many ways you can help these beautiful animals and it doesn’t cost you a whole lot to make some kind of difference in this fight to save these African Elephants. 

Other Resources

Here are some other great resources to look at and use for research or donations!

Save The Elephants

World Wildlife Fund

Elephants Conservation Supported by the ICUN

US Fish and Wildlife Elephant Conservation Fund

Works Cited

            “African Elephant.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/species/african-elephant.

            “African Elephant.” National Geographic, 11 Nov. 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/african-elephant/.

            “African Elephant Action Plan.” IUCN, IUCN, 14 Feb. 2017, www.iucn.org/ssc-groups/mammals/african-elephant-specialist-group/strategies-management-plans/african-elephant-action-plan.

            “African Elephant Conservation Fund.” Official Web page of the U S Fish and Wildlife Service, US Fish and Wildlife , www.fws.gov/international/wildlife-without-borders/african-elephant-conservation-fund.html.

            “African elephants.” WWF, wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/african_elephants/.

            Paul Steyn. “African Elephants Numbers Plummet 30 Percent, Survey Finds.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 2 Aug. 2017, news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-african-elephants-population-decrease-great-elephant-census/.

            Bale, Rachael. “World's Biggest Ivory Market Shutting Down-What It Means.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 3 Apr. 2017, news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/wildlife-watch-china-elephant-ivory-trafficking-ban/.

            Bale, Rachael. “China Shuts Down Its Legal Ivory Trade.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 30 Dec. 2017, news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/wildlife-watch-china-ivory-ban-goes-into-effect/.

            “Conservation & Research.” Animals: Explore. Discover. Connect., SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment , seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-infobooks/elephants/conservation-and-research.

             Duggan, Briana, et al. “Kenya burns record amounts of ivory.” CNN, Cable News Network, 30 Apr. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/04/30/africa/kenya-ivory-burn/index.html.

            “Ending the ivory trade.” IFAW, International Fund for Animal Welfare, www.ifaw.org/united-states/our-work/elephants/ending-ivory-trade.

            “Loxodonta africana .” IUCN Redlist, IUCN, www.iucnredlist.org/details/12392/0.

            “Statistics.” Save the Elephants, www.savetheelephants.org/about-elephants-2-3-2/statistics/.

            “Threats to African elephants.” WWF, wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/african_elephants/afelephants_threats/.