African Elephant
Across sub-Saharan Africa, African elephants numbered up to 26 million individuals at the end of the 18th century. Since then, poaching and habitat loss have caused rapid declines in numbers. Today, the continent-wide estimate for African elephants is 415,000 individuals.
Protecting Elephants
Poaching to supply the illegal ivory trade, but also for meat and in retaliation for human-elephant conflict, poses a threat to the survival of African forest and savanna elephants. African elephant populations are included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), with the exception of the populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, which are incluced in CITES Appendix II, subject to an annotation that specifies the specimens these range states can export. The African elephant was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1978.
The 4(d) rule of the Endangered Species Act helps ensure imports of live African elephants and authorized imports of elephant trophies into the United States contribute to enhancing conservation of the species in the wild, and that live African elephants, captive in the United States, are well cared for throughout their lifetimes. Additionally, the rule increases efficiency of permit application evaluations and provides transparency on how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's International Affairs program makes permit determinations for imports of African elephants.
International commercial trade in ivory is prohibited under CITES, and further restricted by the African Elephant Conservation Act of 1988 and other laws. Within the United States, the FAQs below provide guidance on how to legally buy, sell, or otherwise trade in elephant ivory to ensure that U.S. domestic markets do not contribute to the decline of elephants in the wild.
African Elephant Conservation Fund
International Affairs supports the conservation of African savanna and forest elephants and their habitats by collaborating with foreign governments, U.S. agencies, and other partners to prevent poaching, conduct applied research and monitoring, develop and execute ivory action plans, and mitigate human-elephant conflict.
