The work was coordinated by Save the Elephants and included researchers from Colorado State University, Mara Elephant Project, the University of British Columbia, Oxford University, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of Stirling and Elephants Alive. George Wittemyer, professor at CSU, serves as chair of the scientific board of Save the Elephants.
The dramatic reduction in range is due to poachers who kill elephants for their ivory and humans encroaching into elephant habitat. Evidence for elephants being drastically reduced in certain regions by the trade in tusks goes back to ancient Rome but reached new levels from the 17th century with the arrival of European traders and colonizers in Africa who fed the demand for ivory. Ivory poaching remains a critical threat to elephants, driving declines across Africa over the past decade.
If released from the threat, elephants still have great potential for recovery into areas where the human footprint is minimal.
“If we can turn the corner and stem the continued declines of elephants in Africa, this work highlights the enormous potential to expand elephant distribution and numbers in their natural habitats across Africa,” said Wittemyer. “It is conceivable that we will be undertaking ambitious efforts to rewild elephants to suitable habitats identified in this work in the near future.”
The study found that 62% of Africa, an area of over 18 million square kilometers – larger than Russia – still has suitable habitat for elephants. This huge zone includes areas where there is still room for peaceful coexistence between humans and elephants, and where they could potentially live but where conflict with people may make it unrealistic.