Analyzing Data on Tuskless Elephants
PART I: INTRODUCTION
A survey of African savanna elephants revealed that populations declined by 30% between 2007 and 2014. As of
2014, about 350,000 savanna elephants were living in Africa. Their current rate of decline is 8% per year,
primarily due to illegal killing called poaching.
Why are so many elephants being illegally killed? And how is this poaching affecting elephant populations? You
will explore these two questions by examining data from several studies and watching a Scientists at Work video
about elephants living in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique.
Pre-Video Activity: Testing Your Prediction
Table 1 shows the numbers of elephants that were illegally killed in a region of Zambia from 2007 to 2013. The
elephants were categorized based on descriptions of their carcasses; these descriptions allow researchers to
infer why the elephants were killed.
The first four rows show categories of elephants that originally had tusks. The fifth and sixth rows show
categories of elephants that naturally do not have tusks, or are tuskless. Individual rows show whether meat
and/or tusks were taken from the elephants after they were killed; researchers can infer that these elephants
were killed for their meat and/or tusks.
Examine the data and then answer the questions after the table.
Table 1. Elephants killed illegally in North Luangwa Valley, eastern Zambia, 2007–2013 (Nyirenda et al., 2015).
type
naturally
present
• Meat and tusks not taken
• Meat intact but tusks taken
• Meat taken but tusks intact
naturally
absent
Total number of elephants
illegally killed
1. How did the total number of elephants that were illegally killed change from 2007 to 2013?
