African Elephant Population Reaches Devastating Tipping Point
A new study suggests that the elephant population in Africa has reached a tipping point with more being killed every year than being born. According to the research since 2010, the average number of elephants killed annually on the continent was 35,000.
Researchers are warning that if the rate of poaching continues, the entire species could be wiped out in the wild within 100 years. The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. George Wittemyer of Colorado State University was the lead author and said:”We are shredding the fabric of elephant society and exterminating populations across the continent.”
Dramatic loss
Over the last few years the illegal trade in elephant tusks has soared, with a kilo of ivory now worth thousands of dollars. Much of the demand is driven by a fast expanding market in Asia. Whilst most conservationists have been pessimistic for a while now, the latest study offers a detailed impact assessment on the wild elephants of Africa. The researchers found that every year between 2010 to 2013 the African elephant population declined by 7 per cent. Elephant births add to the entire population by about 5 per cent every year, which means more animals are being killed every year than being born.
Julian Blanc a researcher from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), who also worked on the study said that if the population loss continues, then there are likely to be significant declines over time. He added that different areas are affected differently. There are still parts of Africa where populations are growing healthily such as Botswana. In other parts of Africa poaching levels are devastatingly high, case in point Central Africa. It is estimated that in Central Africa the elephant population has declined by 60% over the last ten years.
Prof Wittemyer added:
“We are talking about the removal of the oldest and biggest elephants. That means removal of the primary breeding males and removal of family matriarchs and mothers. This leaves behind orphaned juveniles and broken elephant societies.”