African elephants under continued threat of poaching, warns UN-backed report
An updated assessment by a United Nations Environment Programme-administered treaty has confirmed that poaching continues to threaten the long-term survival of the African elephant.
Based on the Proportion of Illegally Killed Elephants data, or PIKE, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has evaluated the levels of illegal killing through MIKE, the acronym for the Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants programme.
MIKE has calculated that illegal killing is the chief cause of death for elephants.
Evidence reveals that PIKE levels peaked in 2011 when an alarming 10 per cent of African elephants were poached, before steadily declining through 2017. That level has remained relatively unchanged throughout 2018.
Such high PIKE levels are ...