The most comprehensive survey conducted of elephant numbers in the Central African nation of Gabon since the late 1980s has found elephants occurring in higher numbers than previously thought.

The study, which was conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Gabon’s National Park Agency (ANPN) and Vulcan using a new non-invasive survey technique, estimates that 95,000 forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) now live in Gabon, confirming it as the principal stronghold for this species, which is considered Critically Endangered by IUCN. The technical improvements enabled a more accurate estimate than previous methods confined to dung counts.

The findings provide hope for the future of the species and the impact that conservation-focused policies can have in encouraging wildlife protection if effectively implemented. The study’s results, published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, mark the first-known DNA-based assessment of a free-ranging large mammal in Africa.

Said Emma Stokes, WCS Regional Director for Central Africa and a co-author of the study: «These results underscore the importance of Gabon as a critical stronghold for forest elephants — containing some 60-70 percent of Africa’s forests elephants. Gabon, together with the northern Republic of Congo, probably hold as many as 85 percent of remaining forest elephants — in large and relatively stable populations. With significant declines in forest elephants reported across much of the rest of the Congo Basin, these two nations will determine the future for the forest elephant in Africa.»

President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon said: «Managing forests, protecting our parks and fighting organised criminal and terrorist groups, who plunder our natural resources, is not easy.

It requires constant vigilance, technical knowhow, logistical capacity, sustainable funding and most importantly, courageous, dedicated, incorruptible forest managers.»

Lee White, Minister of Water and Forests, the Sea, the Environment charged with Climate Planning and Land Use Plan, said: «These results demonstrate that Gabon, under the active leadership of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, has been able to buck the trend of forest elephant decline. This is down to the courage and dedication of our national parks rangers, who are very much in the line of fire. In Africa there is a clear link between healthy elephant numbers and natural resource governance — most countries that have lost their elephant populations have also experienced civil war and instability.»

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