Thirty percent of the African elephant population has been wiped out by poaching in less than a decade. Currently, there are only around 415,000 elephants left.

The poaching crisis is primarily responsible for the 8 percent loss in the population each year, and the trajectory paints a grim picture for the survival of this iconic species.

The ivory trade has been widely reported and policy changes have taken place to quash both supply and demand. Whether these interventions will make a significant impact to save the African elephant remains to be seen. At this current trajectory, however, the largest land mammal on Earth may disappear within our lifetimes.