Thirty years ago Kenya had almost 170 000 elephants. Today the figure is closer to 30 000, with losses fuelled by the international demand for ivory.
Charles Musyoki from the Kenya Wildlife Service is keeping a close eye on the numbers of wild elephants, counting the newly born calves against the animals lost to the ivory trade.
“We are obviously beating the poachers. We are beating them. They are not beating us," he says. "Our men are dealing with them effectively. And the census will basically be an indicator of that we have been successful.”
Conservationist Dr Dame Daphne Sheldrick says an elephant is being killed every 15 minutes in Africa to supply the demand for ivory.
Dame Daphne Sheldrick says the demands of the ivory trade could wipe out the species.
“We’re looking at about 10, 15 years before elephants in the wild disappear,” she says.
The issue has caught the attention of the British Royal Family. Prince Charles and Prince William have released a video message timed to coincide with this week's London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade hosted by the British Government.
