Elephants
Today, the world's largest land mammal is in crisis. All three types—Asian, African forest, and African savannah—are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List. WCS has the strategies and programs in place to help them reclaim their former range.
Challenges
Illegal hunting and habitat loss are having a big impact on elephants. Between 2002 and 2013, the Central African forest elephant population dropped 65% and its range shrank 30%. Some populations of savannah elephants have also suffered major losses: in Tanzania and Mozambique, recent surveys show their numbers have dropped by 60% and 40%, respectively, in the past five years.
10 percent
Both African forest elephants and Asian elephants occur on only about 10 percent of their historical range.
Why WCS?
21 countries
WCS works on elephants in 21 countries, including nine in Asia and 12 in Africa.
28 percent
Our programs cover 28% of the African forest elephant population, 14% of the African savannah elephant population, and 40% of the Asian elephant population.
Conkouati-Douli National Park
Management of the park in Congo is a public-private collaboration between the Congolese government, local communities, WCS, and private donors. In 2014, WCS President and CEO Cristian Samper wrote on the Huffington Post of its success, as it was reported elephant numbers had risen by as much as 50% over four years.
Protect Elephant Habitat
In India, for instance, in 2011–12, WCS staff were highly instrumental in the expansion of four protected areas in the Western Ghats region by a total of 1,250 square kilometers. At the time, the region was home to roughly 5,000 Asian elephants.
In Burma, following surveys by WCS and the Forest Department, the Burmese Government designated a 4,000 square kilometer area of the Hukaung Valley in northern Myanmar as a wildlife sanctuary. We then worked with the Forest Department to identify key areas for elephants within the reserve.
PALF
Project for the Application of Law for Fauna (PALF) is a multi-partner venture, including WCS, that works to stop wildlife trafficking in the Republic of Congo. PALF investigates promising leads, coordinates arrests, and follows and supports legal proceedings, minimizing opportunities for corruption and helping ensure deterrent sentences are handed down.
Related News
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April 15, 2021
Forest Elephants are Now Critically Endangered – Here’s How to Count Them (English and French)
A team of scientists led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and working closely with experts from the Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux du Gabon (ANPN) compared methodologies to count African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), which...
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April 1, 2021
African Elephants’ Range is Just 17 Percent of What it Could be, Study Finds
A study reported in the journal Current Biology on April 1 has both good news and bad news for the future of African elephants.
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March 25, 2021
New Endangered and Critically Endangered status for African elephants
The African savannah elephant and the forest elephant have now been classified as Endangered and Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM.
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View All News
Forest Elephants are Now Critically Endangered – Here’s How to Count Them (English and French)
A team of scientists led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and working closely with experts from the Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux du Gabon (ANPN) compared methodologies to count African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), which...
Read the storyAfrican Elephants’ Range is Just 17 Percent of What it Could be, Study Finds
A study reported in the journal Current Biology on April 1 has both good news and bad news for the future of African elephants.
Read the storyNew Endangered and Critically Endangered status for African elephants
The African savannah elephant and the forest elephant have now been classified as Endangered and Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM.
Read the storyWe Stand for Wildlife
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