Africa elephant census reveals dramatic decline
 

Nairobi: The results of a three year aerial survey of Africa´s elephants published Thursday revealed a dramatic 30 percent decline in savannah elephant populations, largely due to poaching.

"We completed a successful survey of massive scale, and what we learned is deeply disturbing," said Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist who spent $7 million (6.3 million euros) funding the census.

The first-of-its-kind survey is the largest wildlife census ever and involved flying over 18 African countries with scientists and conservationists counting live elephants and carcases to establish a baseline for future studies of elephant populations and how to protect them better.

"Armed with this k**wledge of dramatically declining elephant populations, we share a collective responsibility to take action," Allen said as the results were published on Thursday at a meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Hawaii.

Named the Great Elephant Census (GEC), the three-year programme began in December 2013 and involved 81 aeroplanes and 286 crew flying 463,000 kilometres over 18 countries, said James Deutsch, of Allen´s Vulcan Inc investment company.

A total of 352,271 elephants were counted during the survey, representing a decline of 30 percent between 2007-14 equivalent to 144,000 elephants. Currently savannah elephant numbers are declining at eight percent a year, the study said.

Poaching hotspots identified include Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania where "staggering population declines" were found. Other populations face "local extinction" in **rtheast Democratic Republic of Congo, **rthern Cameroon and southwest Zambia.

However, populations were found to be stable or even increasing in South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, parts of Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and the W-Arli-Pendjari conservation area that spans the borders of Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso.

"If we can´t save the African elephant, what is the hope for conserving the rest of Africa´s wildlife?" said Mike Chase, of conservation organisation Elephants Without Borders, who led the census.

Two countries are still to be surveyed: Central African Republic and South Sudan where conflict has made access tricky. Allen **w also plans to launch a similar survey of Africa´s forest elephants which are thought to have also suffered badly from poaching.

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