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How did elephant poaching affect African elephant populations during the 1980s?

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Inupiat shaman's figure. — ivory carving Kinugumiut Inupiat incised walrus ivory shaman's figure, c. 1890; in the National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center, Smithsonian Institution, New York City.

During the 1980s, African elephant populations suffered a catastrophic decline primarily driven by the commercial demand for ivory, which is highly prized for ivory carving. Driven by this market, poaching became the primary cause of mortality for the species.12

The impact on the population was severe: between 1979 and 1989, the number of African elephants in the wild was reduced by more than half, falling from approximately 1,300,000 to 600,000 animals. During the 1980s alone, poachers virtually halved the total population. This rapid decimation, alongside ongoing habitat loss, led to a significant decline in both the numbers and the geographic range of these animals. In response to this crisis, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) implemented a total ban on the international ivory trade in 1990.312