Past estimates of the elephant population in Africa ranged from around 400,000 to over 630,000, and there was disagreement about the numbers. The new Great Elephant Census, funded by Paul Allen of Microsoft, estimates that there are just 352,271 elephants in 93 percent of the animals’ range.

Much of the decline in the elephant population is due to illegal poaching by people who sell elephant tusks on the Chinese market. Past estimates of how many elephants are illegally killed were based on models and incomplete carcass counts, as opposed to comparing population numbers. The new survey finds tens of thousands of elephants are being killed each year.

Many governments have tried to prevent illegal elephant hunting by establishing parks and disrupting the market for ivory. Kenya has held public ivory-burning events for years — at the most recent one, in April, the government burned the tusks of nearly 7,000 elephants.

Botswana appears to be most effective at protecting its elephants. The elephants seem to understand this and herds there are now worryingly large. In Namibia, elephant and rhino numbers are treated as a national secret, but appear to be healthy and thriving. It is said that their ivory is not good for carving, which is some small comfort.

The smaller elephants inhabiting tropical forests are another matter. Killed for the ivory, they could be wiped out completely in the next ten years. Their numbers fell by about 65 per cent across the Central African Republic between 2002 and 2013. Unlike the bigger, more abundant savannah elephants, which start breeding from the age of 12, female forest elephants only begin breeding at 23 and give birth once every five to six years. This makes them the planet’s slowest reproducing mammals and means the species may take up to 90 years to recover from losses inflicted over this 11-year period. (various sources, including New Scientist, September, 2016)

The Chinese government should be cracking down on the disgusting trade in ivory from rhinos and elephants. Why won’t they do this? Guess.