Gabon is last bastion of endangered African forest elephants

By FARAI MUTSAKA
Associated Press

PONGARA NATIONAL PARK, Gabon (AP) — Gabon remains the “last stronghold” of African forest elephants, new research shows, as loss of habitat and poaching have made the pachyderms a critically endangered species. A survey by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Gabon’s parks agency released Thursday reports that the country has 95,000 forest elephants, much higher than previous estimates. This is Gabon’s first nationwide elephant census in 30 years. The latest survey is the “first nationwide DNA-based assessment of a free-ranging large mammal in Africa,” researchers say. Researchers said that previous surveys used dung counts, which can be more expensive, more difficult and less reliable than DNA sampling on large-scale surveys.