This is the fifth update on the status of the African elephant produced under the aegis of the African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC).

Like its predecessors this update is based on data from the African Elephant Database (AED), the most comprehensive database on the conservation status of the African elephant. Since 2009, the AfESG has been working on a major shift in the infrastructure of the AED. The 2007 African Elephant Status Report (AESR 2007) argued for a shift to a multi-species database, expanding the infrastructure to include other species. The AED is now housed in a ‘global’ elephant database, the African and Asian Elephant Database (AAED), available through a web interface. At present, Asian elephant range is available, and the IUCN/SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group is working to integrate population data. An open source project, the code is available for use and modification by other Specialist Groups or the general public. The new system provides a number of advantages, not least of which is the near immediate publication of survey results as we receive them, rather than waiting for the publication of an updated set of pooled estimates.

Download the full report: Elephant Database