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Elephants close to extinction in Ivory Coast

A very large original population has been driven to near extinction by habitat loss, hunting and lack of management.

Document created 03 May 2006, last updated 03 May 2006

Elephant carcass   Elephant carcass in Comoé National Park, in 1996.
Côte d’Ivoire before colonial times hosted a very large population of elephants. Number estimates based on land area and vegetation cover are in the hundreds of thousands. The ivory trade of the colonial era reduced these numbers drastically, but a significant and viable population remained until the 1970s and even 1980s. From the 1980s onwards pressure from poaching and human population expansion, combined with lack of management, has resulted in a sharp drop in elephant numbers, leaving only pockets of very small local populations, most likely destined to become extinct outright.

A decline documented in history
Both ivory trade and human encroachment for agricultural expansion existed in pre-colonial times, and this may have ad an impact on the elephant population of today’s Côte d’Ivoire. But this name given by colonial powers to West Africa’s most productive area in elephant tusks is an indication that the elephant population was large (although Côte d’Ivoire’s harbours were draining part of their ivory from other areas as well).

Ivory exports started early in the 19th century and the trade peaked in the early years of the 20th century (1836 and 1908 were peak years in the ivory exports from French West Africa). Most of the ivory probably came from the savannah north of the forest belt, and the savannah elephant populations declined rapidly. Forest elephant populations also were led to decline, following the expansion of agriculture and habitat destruction. Already before the first world war elephant numbers were severely reduced, and despite rising ivory prices exports were low.

A survey conducted between 1976 and 1984 (Roth and Douglas-Hamilton 1991) showed that by then elephants ranged over only 6 to 7 % of their former territory, with total numbers estimated at 1790 savanna and 3050 forest elephants. The annual loss at the time of the survey was estimated at 300 due to poaching and 90 from legal kill, resulting in a 10% annual decline. By the early 1990s the total Côte d’Ivoire population had reached a low point of 63 to 360 elephants (Blanc et al. 2003).
Protected areas   Some protected areas and elephant distribution in Côte d’Ivoire.
How many elephants are there now?
Today the situation is even worse, with seven populations confirmed, amounting to a few hundred elephants in total.
No elephants are thought to occur outside protected areas. In those the estimated distribution is as follows:
- Comoé National Park : 10 to 20 elephants (2002)
- Marahoué National Park : 160 elephants (2002)
- Taï National Park : 100 elephants (1989, 2002 census not yet available)
- Azagny National Park : 65 elephants (2003)
- Haut Bandama Game Reserve : 20 elephants (none seen during 2002 reconnaissance flight)
- Bossématié and other classified forests : under 60 elephants
- Haut Sassandra Forest Reserve : 30 elephants.

Juvenile killed by poachers   A juvenile elephant killed by poachers in the southern Comoé National Park, Cote d’Ivoire, in 1993.
The forces that are driving decline
Habitat destruction and poaching are the two main causes of elephant number decline in Côte d’Ivoire. Between 1950 and 2004 the country’s population increased about six-fold. During that time almost 90% of the forest disappeared (Bryant et al. 1997). While population increase has slowed down habitat destruction is likely to continue, due to the heavy dependence of the economy on coffee and cocoa which are grown in elephant habitat. In addition a number of elephants are killed legally each year following conflict with farmers. Roth et al (1984) reported that about 90 elephants were killed each year between 1975 and 1980 despite few problems caused.

Even where habitat has remained adequate and where population pressure is low, poaching has caused elephant numbers to decrease dramatically. Comoé National Park, for instance, is West Africa’s largest savanna park and provides high-quality elephant habitat. There is no population encroachment, no livestock keeping, no illegal logging. Yet poaching of all large mammals is rife and elephant numbers dwindled from 1000-1500 in the late 1970s to an estimated 10 to 20 at present.
Poaching has also strongly hurt the forest elephant population of Taï National Park, the last block of protected Haut-guinean forest in Côte d’Ivoire. Numbers dropped from 1800 in the late 1970s to an estimated 100 at present. While the poaching pressure declined markedly in the late 1980s and 1990s, the situation again deteriorated recently due to the area’s political unrest and the influx of refugees from neighbouring Liberia.

The most likely outcome: the total extinction of elephants in Côte d’Ivoire
The current state of civil war in Côte d’Ivoire is resulting in less attention than ever being directed to conservation. But at no time were efforts made to protect the remaining elephants in the country. For most Ivoirians, the loss will be realised only after the species has become extinct in their country. Weak management of national parks and other protected areas, as well as continuing human encroachment on several of them such as Marahoué National Park and Bossématié forest system (including agriculture and logging of elephant habitat) mean that survival of the species even in these protected areas is doubtful.

Information source
This document is based on an article by Dr Frauke Fisher, Zoology III, Dept. of Tropical Biology and Animal Ecology, Theodor Boveri Institute Biozentrum, Am Hubland 97074, Würzburg, Germany; email: fischer@biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de,
published in the Journal Pachyderm #38, January-June 2005 (cf. link provided).

Read this article for more information, methodology and references.

References:

[ref1]  . . .

[ref2]  . . .

[ref3]  . . .

Links to external websites:

[wb1]  Pachyderm online - Read the reference article's full text online.

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Elephant carcass Elephant carcass in Comoé National Park, in 1996.

Protected areas Some protected areas and elephant distribution in Côte d’Ivoire.

Juvenile killed by poachers A juvenile elephant killed by poachers in the southern Comoé National Park, Cote d’Ivoire, in 1993.

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