(Reuters) - African elephants are Earth's largest land animals, remarkable mammals that are very intelligent and highly social. They also are in peril. Fresh evidence of this comes in a study that documents alarming population declines at numerous sites ...

African elephants face population decline due to habitat loss and poaching, highlighting urgent conservation needs.

AN average decline of 90 percent for the African elephant population, a 70 percent decline for the savannah elephant population and a combined average decline of 77 percent across both species in the continent has been affirmed in a recent study.

Habitat loss and poaching have driven dramatic declines in African elephants, but it is challenging to measure their numbers and monitor changes across the entire continent. A new study has analyzed 53 years of population survey data and found large-scale declines in most populations of both species of African elephants.