Scientists from the University of Pretoria in South Africa analyzed the situation and future of African elephants on the African continent. They concluded that in their current situation, animal populations cannot remain stable for long due to the lack of suitable areas for them. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Science Advances (SciAdv).
Today, about 410 thousand savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) live in Africa, most of them living in the south of the continent. More than 290 thousand elephants (70%) are distributed in 103 protected areas that vary in size and degree of protection.
From 1995 to 2020, elephant numbers in South Africa increased by an average of 0.16% per year. This means there are as many elephants left today as there were 25 years ago.
The analysis found that the best way to keep the overall elephant population stable would be to let them move freely. Keeping these animals in small and well-protected reserves could lead to a sharp increase in the number of animals, but this figure will not be constant.
An alternative to small reserves could be clusters of protected areas that connect well-protected core lands to less protected buffer areas. This approach will allow people and wildlife to share resources and maintain safe areas in buffer zones. This approach would better stabilize the elephant population, the researchers said.
Previous scientists I learnedElephants are important for maintaining healthy forests.