verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style

Are elephants endangered?

All living elephants are endangered. The Asian elephant and the African savanna elephant are listed as endangered species; the African forest elephant is listed as a critically endangered species. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching. At the beginning of the 21st century, fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants remained in the wild. From 1979 to 1989 the number of African elephants in the wild was reduced by more than half, from 1,300,000 to 600,000, partly as a result of commercial demand for ivory. By the 2020s, the Asian elephant population hovered around 50,000 animals, and the combined population of African savanna and African forest elephants totaled about 400,000 animals.