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The International Union for Conservation of Nature is a group that works to conserve nature and use natural resources wisely. They maintain an exhaustive list of endangered animals called the Endangered Species Red List. They rate animals and plants on a scale from least disturbed to extinct. This list not only identifies the most endangered species, but also provides advice on what needs to be done to prevent further extinction. Let’s see how worthy the elephants are on the list and how many elephants are left in the world today.
How many elephants are left in the world
Short answer: There are at least 463,571 elephants in the world. While this number looks accurate, there are of course many considerations to be taken into account, and there are huge differences between African and Asian elephant populations.
Keep in mind that while there may be just under half a million elephants in the world today, that number is sharply below historical levels. In fact, an estimated 10 million elephants may have lived on the African continent in the 1930s.
Go back even further into the 1500s and the African elephant population may have reached 26 million! Likewise, the Asian elephant now occupies less than 15% of its historical range and is incredibly fragmented. It is likely that the world’s elephant populations have declined 95-99% from their historic peaks just 500 years ago.
How many African elephants are left in the world?
As we noted above, up to 26 million elephants once lived in Africa. So the question is, how many African elephants are there today? According to the latest estimates, there are 415,428 African elephants left, but they are two different species on the continent. Let’s analyze each one separately.
African elephant Population
These elephants are listed as endangered and their population is declining. According to the latest data from a 2016 study, there are 415,428 elephants living in Africa according to the status report for African elephants. This is the cumulative number of African bush elephants and African forest elephants. The biggest threat to savannah elephants is ivory poaching. Ivory is prized for carvings, decorations, piano keys, billiard balls, cutlery handles and more.
African forest elephant Population
African forest elephants are listed as endangered with a declining population. As mentioned above, the number of these elephants was combined with the larger bush elephants to be 415,428, so it is difficult to say exactly how many forest species remain. Savannah elephants are easier to document because they live outdoors in grasslands, whereas forest elephants can hide in dense rainforests. The biggest threat to forest elephants is ivory poaching.
Asian elephant populations
Asian elephants are listed as endangered and their population is declining. The last count of Asian elephants was carried out in 2018 and amounted to 48 323-51 680 individuals. But due to the fact that some Asian elephants also live in dense rainforests, it is more difficult to get an accurate count. The breakdown by country shows that India has the most elephants at 29,964. The biggest threats to these elephants are habitat loss, human conflict, poaching and illegal trade. Since female Asian elephants do not have long tusks, one would think they would be more protected, but there has been an increase in trade in other elephant body parts, such as their skin.
Leather is used to make jewelry that is said to bring good luck. Conflict between humans and elephants is also a serious threat to Asian elephants. The more people invade their habitat, the more collisions occur.
What can be done to help elephants?
There are two conservation laws that help maintain the elephant population. The African Elephant Conservation Act, which aims to enforce anti-ivory import laws, and the Asian Elephant Conservation Act provide money for conservation initiatives in Asian countries. There are two things you can do to help elephants: never buy anything made from ivory, and tell others about elephants and their important role in our ecosystem!
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