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Southern Africa stands out from the other regions. Elephant
populations have been steadily increasing since the early 20th
century when the numbers were at an all-time low due to un-
controlled sport hunting in the 19th century. Although poach-
ing also occurred in Southern Africa in the 1970s and 1980s,
the numbers were not even close to those of Central and East-
ern Africa. In fact, the elephant populations of Southern Africa
have, to a much greater extent, been protected through target-
ed conservation efforts. It is the only region that has shown
a definite and clear population increase over recent decades.
Latest estimates show definite population numbers to be about
250,000 elephants (IUCN/AfESG 2013).
Figure 6:
African elephant population size by country.