Source: MakeLemonade.nz
A study reported in the journal
Current Biology says while about 18 million square kilometres of Africa still has suitable habitat for elephants, the actual range of African elephants has shrunk to just 17 percent of what it could be due to human pressure and the killing of elephants for ivory.
The Mara Elephant Project in Kenya looked at every square kilometre of the continent and found that 62 percent the elephant-land area is suitable for habitat, the Science Daily says.
The findings suggest that, if released from human pressures, including the threat of being killed for their ivory, elephants still have great potential for recovery into areas where the human footprint is light.
Credit: David Griffin
A study reported in the journal
Current Biology on April 1 has both good news and bad news for the future of African elephants. While about 18 million square kilometers of Africa an area bigger than the whole of Russia still has suitable habitat for elephants, the actual range of African elephants has shrunk to just 17%of what it could be due to human pressure and the killing of elephants for ivory. We looked at every square kilometer of the continent, says lead author Jake Wall of the Mara Elephant Project in Kenya. We found that 62% of those 29.2 million square kilometers is suitable habitat.