Recently, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assessed the African elephant as two separate species – the forest elephant and savannah elephant. The move has increased these animals’ ‘red list‘ categorisation to endangered for savannah elephants and critically endangered for forest elephants. In an Age of Extinction extra for Science Weekly, Patrick Greenfield asks why it has taken so long for these two species to be officially recognised as such, and what the reclassification could mean for their conservation
- Dr Kathleen Gobush is an elephant specialist who led a team of six IUCN assessors for the new classifications of forest and savannah elephants.
- Alfred Roca is a professor in animal sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Read Patrick’s article about the reclassification here.
- Find out more about the Age of Extinction here.
- Let us know what you think of the episode, and any stories you’d like us to cover in the future. Leave a comment below or send us an email at: scienceweekly@theguardian.com
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