Good news! How much is there still an undercount?
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) still claims African elephants "remain critically endangered." Really! I bet, the IUCN would still make this dubious claim when there a 500,000 or more African elephants. It's good for their business, I suppose!
"A recently published survey from the IUCN counted 135,690 African forest elephants between 2016 and 2024, 16 percent more than the previous attempt (2006-2015). The increase is partly due to better detection—this time around, the researchers used DNA signatures in dung to track individual elephants—so it’s not clear whether it reflects a real recovery."
"... This is the first time African Forest Elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) have been assessed independently from African Savanna Elephants (Loxodonta africana), following their recognition as distinct species in 2021. ..."
DNA methods help uncover further African Forest Elephants – but species remains critically endangered "A new assessment of African Forest Elephants reveals an estimated 135,690 individuals1, with an additional 7,728 to 10,990 elephants based on more tentative ‘guesses’. Updated methods provide a clearer, more accurate understanding of the species’ status - revising population figures by an additional 16%, compared to figures published in 2016."
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