The World Wildlife Fund is sounding the alarm: elephants, the largest land animals, are in danger in Africa. Their population of 3 to 5 million at the beginning of the 20th century has shrunk to about 415,000 individuals; a fall totaling 95% of the population.
"In 100 years we have already lost more than 95% of African elephants, which is why WWF is launching the 'SOS Elephant' campaign," the organization writes on its website.
The two species, the African savanna elephant and the African forest elephant, are in danger of extinction and critically endangered, respectively.
According to the WWF, habitat loss, human-elephant conflict and poaching are the three direct threats to their survival.
Poaching is the most significant threat, as elephants are illegally slaughtered for their meat, skins, and especially for their ivory. Each year, poachers kill between 20,000 and 30,000 of them.
WWF's efforts
To conserve the animals, WWF works on four major axes. The first is aimed at improving the management and protection of elephants by providing equipment and training to anti-poaching teams. The second is set to reduce the illegal trade by monitoring trends. The other two focus on mitigating human-elephant conflict and increasing the number of elephants in range countries.