African savannah elephants are ecological engineers, tourism powerhouses, and cultural icons, yet their numbers have crashed over the last century due to ivory poaching, habitat loss, and human–elephant conflict. Historical estimates suggest more than 20 million elephants once roamed Africa; today only a fraction remain. Until recently, however, conservationists lacked a reliable, continent-wide picture of how many elephants are left and where they are most at risk.
The Great Elephant Census (GEC), launched in 2014, set out to close this gap. Using standardized aerial survey methods across 18 African countries, researchers focused on the largest and densest savannah elephant populations, aiming to count at least 90% of the remaining animals. Survey teams flew nearly 295,000 km of transects over almost 894,000 km² of habitat, recording both live elephants and carcasses to estimate recent mortality and population trends.
The GEC estimated 352,271 savannah elephants (95% CI: 334,464–370,078), with Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania holding the largest populations. Roughly 84% of elephants were found in protected areas, underscoring their importance. However, an average carcass ratio of 11.9%—well above the 8% threshold for stability—reveals that many populations are declining, even inside national parks and reserves. Trend analysis showed modest recovery from the 1980s poaching crisis until about 2007, followed by steep declines between 2010 and 2014, driven largely by renewed ivory poaching in countries such as Mozambique, Tanzania, and DR Congo.
The Great Elephant Census provides the first robust baseline for African savannah elephants at a continental scale. Its findings highlight urgent priorities: strengthening anti-poaching efforts, safeguarding key protected areas, securing important unprotected habitats, and addressing rising human–elephant conflict. With more than 350,000 elephants still roaming Africa’s savannahs, decisive action informed by GEC data is critical to prevent further declines and secure a future for this keystone species.
