Elephants in the Dust - The African Elephant Crisis

The African elephant is facing the greatest crisis in decades. Reports of mass elephant killings in the media illustrate the situation across many African elephant range States. Surges in poaching, the illegal ivory trade and accelerating habitat and range loss have put African elephant populations at risk. This Rapid Response Assessment provides an overview of the status of elephants, poaching and illegal ivory trafficking along the entire ivory trade supply chain. Findings presented here were obtained from a range of sources, including The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme, the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), the IUCN/SSC African Ele phant Specialist Group (AfESG), the African and Asian Ele phant Database, the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), expert consultations and a range of other sources.