Summary: There was a 30% decline in African savanna elephants from 2007 and 2014. Forest elephants suffered a 65% decline between 2002 and 2013. Poaching is the main threat to African elephants today. Despite an international ban on ivory in 1989, conservationists say we entered a “second poaching crisis” in 2009 as many Asian economies have grown – thus increasing the demand for ivory.