LIBREVILLE, Gabon — Increasing threats of poaching and loss of habitat have made Africa’s elephant populations more endangered, according to a report released Thursday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The African forest elephant is critically endangered, and the African savanna elephant is endangered. The two species had previously been grouped together as a single species and were classified as vulnerable by the conservation agency.
The number of African forest elephants has fallen by more than 86% over a 31-year period, while the population of savanna elephants dropped by more than 60% over a 50-year period, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which rates the global extinction risks to the world’s animals.
Africa currently has 415,000 elephants, counting the forest and savanna elephants together, according to the the agency.
The savanna elephants prefer more open plains and are found in various habitats across sub-Saharan Africa, with Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe having high concentrations.
The smaller African forest elephants occupy mostly the tropical forests of West and Central Africa, with the largest remaining populations found in Gabon and Republic of Congo.
In Gabon, the fight against elephant poaching “is more than just fighting for nature. It’s fighting for the stability of our country,” said Lee White, Gabon’s minister of water and forests.
“We have seen countries like Central African Republic, where poachers became bandits, became rebels and destabilized the whole country,” White said, attributing the bulk of poaching and ivory trafficking to international cross-border syndicates.
“Eighty [percent] to 90% of our ivory goes to Nigeria and ends up funding [the jihadist rebels] Boko Haram. So it’s very much a cross-border fight against organized crime and even against terrorism,” he said.
The battle to protect Gabon’s forest elephants is a war, he said. “We have transformed biologists into warriors,” White said. “We have transformed people who signed up to watch elephants and work with nature and the national parks into soldiers who have gone to war for the survival of the elephants.”