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Elephants are found in Asia and Africa. On both continents they are classified as endangered according to the IUCN Red List. They have been hunted for their tusks and are seen as a danger to humans when people settle near their territory. Is the planet big enough for both of us?
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| Asian elephant |
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|  | Asian elephants used to range from Iraq to China's Yellow River. Now they are found from India to Vietnam with a very small population in south west China. The WWF estimates there are between 25,600 and 32,750 individual Asian elephants left in the wild. The biggest population is in India. Sri Lanka was once recognised for its large elephant population, but numbers are falling. The most recently identified subspecies, the Borneo 'pygmy elephant' has been estimated to number 1,500 or fewer.
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| | Habitat loss is the greatest threat to Asian elephants and their seasonal migrations are now almost impossible because of human settlement along their traditional routes.
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| | Besides the wild population there are many thousands of domesticated elephants. They are used in the logging industry as a highly effective way to shift timber through forests, without the need for more road-building. Conservationists have raised concerns that some methods used to tame displaced wild elephants for use as working animals are outdated and cruel.
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| | In 1989 the Thai government banned logging following a series of landslips caused by deforestation. Although this was clearly a good idea, some 3,000 logging elephants, became unemployed overnight. The remaining forests were too small to support them and many elephants too reliant on their handlers (mahouts) to be released into the wild.
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| | In such cases, the tourist industry is the best hope. Elephants are used for trekking expeditions and other forms of tourist amusement (some even play music and paint). The best organisations treat the animals well, but there are many instances where elephants are neglected and end up begging with their mahouts on the streets of busy cities.
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| | For more information about Asian elephants read ARKive.
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| African elephant |
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| Some experts believe that poaching has significantly reduced the number of African elephants since the ivory ban was imposed. The WWF estimates there to be between 470,000 and 690,000 individual elephants. It is now recognised by some organisations that there are two distinct species of African elephant, however these are not recognised by the IUCN because they believe there is as yet insufficient evidence to justify this distinction.
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| | Savannah elephants
Savannah elephants are the most numerous and are found in sub-Saharan east and central Africa. The greatest threat to elephants in east Africa is poaching.
Savannah elephants play a key role in the grassland ecosystem. They browse shrubs which take over from grass if not kept in check. With no grass, antelope numbers decline and those that remain are more easily preyed on by predators hiding in the bushes. Eventually there is no prey for the big cats. Where elephant conservation is successful, numbers of endangered antelopes (such as topi) also increase.
For more information about Savannah elephants read ARKive.
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| | Forest elephants
Forest elephants are less numerous and are found in central and west Africa. These elephants are threatened by poaching and habitat loss.
The forest elephant's habitat is being logged and converted to agricultural use. Populations are being isolated and surrounded by villages and settlements so there is increasing risk of conflict with humans.
Like their savannah counterparts, forest elephants are 'keystone' species because of the role they play in the environment. In some forests in western Africa, the trees have large fruits with thick shells that only elephants can break. The elephants disperse the seeds in their dung, which also provides the perfect fertiliser. It's thought that some 30 or 40 per cent of large tree species in the area depend on elephants for reproduction.
For more information about Forest elephants read ARKive.
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| | West African elephants
DNA evidence now suggests that there is another species of African elephant - the west African elephant. Not all experts agree, but if more research supports these findings, conservation strategies may need to be reconsidered.
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