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It is a sight that has made Tanzania’s savannah a Mecca for wildlife tourists. When the sun had climbed high enough to warm their backs, four dark grey shapes lumbered leisurely out of a thicket and began, without much urgency, to graze.

But this family of elephants is lucky to be alive — survivors of what has been described as one of the most catastrophic poaching sprees in history. “If they were from the Selous reserve, they’d keep their distance and they’d be quite aggressive,” said Raymond, a guide. “There they have learnt that humans are dangerous.”

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Tens of thousands of elephants have been killed over the past decade, as rising wealth in China and East Asia created new customers for luxury ivory items.

The crisis, exacerbated by a transnational network of organised crime and corruption, affects almost every African country with an elephant population and will be the subject of an international summit hosted by the Duke of Cambridge in London next month.