Poaching drives 80 percent decline in elephants in key preserve: More than 25,000 elephants slain over a decade in Gabon park

 

Forest elephant populations in one of Central Africa’s largest sanctuaries have declined between 78% and 81% because of poaching, a new study finds. More than 25,000 elephants in Gabon’s Minkébé National Park may have been killed for their ivory between 2004 and 2014. With nearly half of Central Africa’s forest elephants thought to live in Gabon, the loss of elephants from the park is a considerable setback for the preservation of the species.

Source: Poaching drives 80 percent decline in elephants in key preserve: More than 25,000 elephants slain over a decade in Gabon park