SLIDE 1

I want to start with a quick review of elephant status and distribution, looking first at the continent of Africa. The important line on this slide is the red line. 1.3 million African elephants were thought to exist in the late 1970’s, and by 1989 the number was estimated to be down to 609,000. The greatest concentrations are in central Africa and south Africa, with smaller numbers in East and West Africa. Half a million elephants is a lot of animals, but when a population that size declines to half that number in the space of just a few years, you have something to worry about. So it’s the trend that’s of great concern in Africa.