Philippe Bouché1*, Iain Douglas-Hamilton2,5, George Wittemyer2,3, Aimé J. Nianogo4, Jean-Louis Doucet1, Philippe Lejeune1, Cédric Vermeulen1
Precipitous declines in Africa's native fauna and flora are recognized, but few comprehensive records of these changes have been compiled. Here, we present population trends for African elephants in the 6,213,000 km2 Sudano-Sahelian range of West and Central Africa assessed through the analysis of aerial and ground surveys conducted over the past 4 decades. These surveys are focused on the best protected areas in the region, and therefore represent the best case scenario for the northern savanna elephants. A minimum of 7,745 elephants currently inhabit the entire region, representing a minimum decline of 50% from estimates four decades ago for these protected areas. Most of the historic range is now devoid of elephants and, therefore, was not surveyed. Of the 23 surveyed elephant populations, half are estimated to number less than 200 individuals. Historically, most populations numbering less than 200 individuals in the region were extirpated within a few decades. Declines differed by region, with Central African populations experiencing much higher declines (−76%) than those in West Africa (−33%). As a result, elephants in West Africa now account for 86% of the total surveyed. Range wide, two refuge zones retain elephants, one in West and the other in Central Africa. These zones are separated by a large distance (~900 km) of high density human land use, suggesting connectivity between the regions is permanently cut. Within each zone, however, sporadic contacts between populations remain. Retaining such connectivity should be a high priority for conservation of elephants in this region. Specific corridors designed to reduce the isolation of the surveyed populations are proposed. The strong commitment of governments, effective law enforcement to control the illegal ivory trade and the involvement of local communities and private partners are all critical to securing the future of elephants inhabiting Africa's northern savannas.
PLoS One. 2011;6(6):e20619. Epub 2011 Jun 22.
Why is this sad?
I have never been to Africa and my wife has underlined the clause in our marriage contract that prohibits me from dragging her there. So, I have never seen an elephant in the wild. As a child, I rode on an elephant at a circus, but I never learned his name or his family history. Maybe it was a her. This all comes to the fact that I love elephants! Remember that song "Teddy Bear's Picnic"? I thought it was about elephants...until last year. Somewhere I heard that elephants have great memories and that means they want picnics, so I just assumed the song had "elephants" everywhere "teddy bears" shows up.
On that note, it saddens me to read that elephants will one day be extinct. It makes me think of that story "Welcome to the Monkeyhouse," where they describe how Kennedy's boat is now stuck in concrete. What did the researchers do? They went over Africa for four decades and monitored the decline in the elephant population. They found that elephant populations are declining all over the place!! Some by 76 %! They found that even elephants in refuges were declining! If the refuge were a mutual fund and the elephants were share price, people would take action if the fund manager let the stock slip in value by 76%...over four decades!
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