As PIKE levels remain above 0.5 in Africa, the number of elephants in some countries continues to decline from an estimated 12 million a century ago, to some 400,000, according to the most recent estimations contained in the 2016 African Elephant Status Report. Geneva, 10 May 2019 – An updated assessment by the CITES programme Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) has confirmed that poaching continues to threaten the long-term survival of the African elephant. In 2009 Save the Elephants recorded a spike in poaching rates in Samburu and published a warning in the journal Nature that East Africa’s protected areas were now in danger.Our worst fears came true. This concern highlighted the need to monitor and report on the continent-wide status of elephant populations. As Central Africa’s elephant numbers plummeted the poaching pressure began to move to the savannahs of East Africa. “Illegal killing of African elephants for ivory remains a significant threat to elephant populations in most of the range States. African elephants have two opposing extensions at the end of their trunks, in contrast to the Asian elephant, which only has one. Learn more about the African elephant, as well as the threats this species faces, what WWF is doing to protect its future, and how you can help. PRESS RELEASE. The U.S. Full status reports were published in 1995, 1998, 2002, 2007, 2016 and provisional updates were released online for 2012 (in 2013) and 2013 (in 2015). Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial genome of nine specimens from museum collections indicates that it is an African forest elephant whose diminutive size or … Learn more about the African elephant, as well as the threats this species faces, what WWF is … Occasional Paper Series of the IUCN Species Survival Commission . Renowned elephant ecologists and aerial survey experts review 2018 aerial survey of elephants and wildlife in northern Botswana: On the 7th January 2019, a comprehensive technical report on the 2018 Aerial Survey of Elephants and Wildlife in Northern Botswana was submitted to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP). Like its predecessors, the AESR 2016 is based on data from the African Elephant Database (AED), the most comprehensive database on the status of any species of mammal in the wild. 2018;3(5):379‒384. The African Elephant population that once showed promising signs of recovery, could be at risk due to the recent surge in poaching for the illegal ivory trade. DOI: 10.15406/ijawb.2018.03.00123 Figure 1 Elephant population in African regions (Adopted from Nelleman C et al.,2). Thouless, C. et al. Tusks, which are large modified incisors that grow throughout an elephant's lifetime, occur in both males and females and are … For use of the media only; not an official document.