Elephant Diversity and Conservation: Habitat, Species, and Survival

Elephants are amazing creatures, but their world is changing fast. A 2023 map by cartographer Wanmei Liang brings this into focus: it marks every elephant species and subspecies in a different color. (The source data comes from the Elephant Territories project.)

In Africa, two species remain: the savanna (bush) elephant and the forest elephant. In Asia, there’s one species – the Asian elephant – split into three main subspecies (Indian, Sri Lankan, and Sumatran). The map shows African savanna elephants in purple, forest elephants in red, Sri Lankan elephants in pink, Indian elephants in orange, and Sumatran elephants in yellow (a lowly known subspecies of  Indian elephants of the Borneo elephants is not shown on the map). This visual makes it easy to see where each lives and who they are. In real numbers, all elephant groups are dwindling. Across Africa, an estimated about 400,000–415,000 elephants survive today. Most live in East and Southern Africa (Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya, etc.) as savanna elephants. The forest elephants (in places like Gabon and the Congo Basin) number only around 150,000. These forest herds are critically endangered: a recent study reported an 86% decline over three decades.

The map’s red areas (forest) are now tiny compared to a century ago. The purple areas (savanna) still cover big parks, but even there numbers are falling in many regions due to poaching. Asia’s elephants also face big challenges. The Indian elephant (orange on the map) counts roughly 20,000–25,000, mostly in India and parts of Southeast Asia. The Sri Lankan elephant (pink) lives only in Sri Lanka; today there are about 2,500–4,000 left, up from 10,000–19,000 a century ago. The Sumatran elephant (yellow) is the most at risk: only about 2,400–2,800 remain on the whole island. Shrinking jungle is to blame – WWF notes nearly 70% of Sumatran elephant habitat has been destroyed in recent years, so much that this subspecies was reclassified as “critically endangered”. Human development, palm oil farms, and logging have carved Asia’s green cover into fragments, isolating herds. This is clear on the map: the yellow Sumatran zone is broken into small patches. Whether in Africa or Asia, all elephants share a downward trend. Poaching for ivory, expanding agriculture, and human-elephant conflicts are key threats. For example, in the past decade Africa lost about 100,000 elephants to poaching. 

In Sri Lanka and India, rising human populations mean more encounters (sometimes deadly) with elephants. As forests are cut, elephants raid crops and get shot in retaliation. The map by Liang is a stark reminder: each colored region is a home that’s under pressure. Given their ecological role (seed dispersers, forest gardeners) and cultural importance, elephants are vital for sustainable ecosystems and well-being. The map not only highlights where they live, but also hints at where conservation is needed most – the thin strips of color in densely populated areas or the shrinking patches of rainforest. By understanding these ranges, readers can appreciate why protecting corridors and national parks is crucial.