On World Elephant Day, Aug 12, 2020, the Kenya Wildlife Service announced that efforts to curb poaching had helped its elephant population more than double over the past three decades. In 1989, Kenya had only 16,000 elephants; that number grew to over 34,000 by 2018.
Najib Balala, Kenya’s Tourism Minister, said:
In the past couple of years, we have managed to tame poaching in this country. This year alone, about 170 elephant calves have been born.
The number of poached elephants in Kenya in 2020 is considerably lower compared to previous years. So far, seven elephants have been poached this year, compared to 34 in 2019 and 80 in 2018.
However, Africa’s entire figures on the elephant population show that the continent is still suffering. In the 1970s, Africa had 1.3 million elephants, today there are approximately 500,000, of which less than 30,000 are in the wild.
In 2016, the Kenyan government made a public show of its efforts to end poaching. President Uhuru Kenyatta sent a clear message to smugglers by setting fire to valuable stockpiles of rhino horns and elephant tusks.
The government of Kenya has also established stiffer jail times and more substantial fines for anyone convicted of trafficking in wildlife trophies or poaching wildlife.
