How is forest elephant conservation going?
Unfortunately, forest elephants are getting hammered. The population appears to be shrinking, except in a few small areas. The last reliable survey in the late 1980s showed about 170,000 animals. There are probably less than 100,000 today. What’s happening to them? Unregulated poaching is the biggest problem. The motivation is mostly to get the ivory [tusks], but there is some hunting for meat and skin too. Conservation has been made more difficult because of the political instability in central Africa. But there are some signs of optimism in some places. What’s next for you? I’m about to move with my family back to Gabon. We’re starting some interesting projects aimed at being able to predict where the elephants will be, based on vegetation types and fruit production. That will help us identify key conservation areas and, we hope, help reintroduce elephants into some of their former range. Good luck! Thanks. To track the elephants on the Web, visit: http://maps.geog.umd.edu/carpemappe
