African elephant carcass ratio

Data on elephant populations was gathered on two species: the African elephant, and the Asian elephant.

African elephant population data was primarily gathered from the African Elephant Database. Available at: https://africanelephantdatabase.org/report/2016/Africa

Prior to 2013, this data was collected and reported on the basis of the DPPS method, where estimates were given as 'Definite', 'Probable', 'Possible' and 'Speculative'. Here we have taken "Definitive" survey counts for all years. However, we also compared data based on "Definitive" + "Probable" estimates, and the overall trends are similar. However, these counts always come with uncertainty. Longer historical estimates for 1979 come from the work of Douglas-Hamilton (1979). These estimates come with significant uncertainty, and may be overestimates.

Figures for some countries on 'carcass ratio' are also provided. The carcass ratio is the number of dead elephants observed during the count, as a percentage of the total population. Carcass ratios of more than 8 percent are considered to indicate poaching at a high enough level to cause a declining population.

Asian elephant population data is sourced primarily from the Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG); UN FAO and national records. Latest estimates are available here: https://iucn.org/our-union/commissions/group/iucn-ssc-asian-elephant-specialist-group

These have been supplemented with longer records for Nepal (http://www.fao.org/3/ad031e/ad031e0e.htm); China (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0124834); Vietnam (http://www.fao.org/3/ad031e/ad031e0f.htm); and India (https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/23637/7/07_chapter%201.pdf).