A. Species
Scientific name: Loxodonta africana
Common name(s): African savanna elephant
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Endangered
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Botswana
Country/Region: Botswana
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State
Name/Details of location: Northern Botswana
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2014
End Year: 2018
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: Only parts or products of the organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Decorative and aesthetic
Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community)
Is this use legal or illegal?: Illegal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and International private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: Elephant numbers have not declined although fresh elephant carcasses mostly directly attributable to poaching have increased by 593% from 2014-2018
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Elephants are highly protected and Botswana has long been considered a "safe haven" for this species, but 5 aerial surveys have revealed a sharp increase in elephant carcasses
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Elephants are highly protected and Botswana has long been considered a "safe haven" for this species, but 5 aerial surveys have revealed a sharp increase in elephant carcasses
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Elephants are highly protected and Botswana has long been considered a "safe haven" for this species, but 5 aerial surveys have revealed a sharp increase in elephant carcasses
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: study does not record this
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: study does not record this
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Elephants in many cases "immobilized" prior to tusk removal through severance of spinal chord
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
To date, poaching seems to be primarily taking place in four hotspots and is mainly impacting mature bulls. Poaching in Botswana does not appear to have reached the levels seen in central or eastern Africa in recent years, where elephant populations decreased by 50% or more in some countries in under a decade. In the past, Botswana has avoided serious poaching by combatting poachers with armed units. Examples elsewhere in Africa show that such anti-poaching efforts can greatly reduce poaching. The hotspots that we have identified would be good locations to target for such efforts. Addressing this problem now, while poaching levels are relatively low, may aid in the conservation of elephants in Botswana.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2019-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-11-11