Are African Elephants wary of Poachers?

African bush elephants are the largest land animals and one of the most intelligent creatures on Earth. Their enormous tusks are one of their most recognizable features — and one of the biggest reasons humans have potentially set elephants on a path to extinction. read more

Ivory-seeking poachers have killed 100,000 African elephants in just three years, according to a new study that provides the first reliable continent-wide estimates of illegal kills. During 2011 alone, roughly one of every twelve African elephants was killed by a poacher. read more

Africa's elephant population suffered its biggest decline in 25 years, as more poachers kill the mammals for their valuable ivory tusks, a new conservation study reveals. Elephant populations decreased by 110,000 over the past 10 years, a study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found. read more

Poaching caused a decline of African elephants from 1.3 million to 600,000 individuals between 1979-1987. Mortality was unusually concentrated among the largest adults with the biggest tusks. Old matriarchs (the oldest adult females that provide the social glue in elephant herds) were particularly vulnerable. read more