Drivers of the Illegal Killing of Elephants
Author Information
Author(s): Robert W. Burn, Fiona M. Underwood, Julian Blanc
Primary Institution: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
Hypothesis
What are the trends and factors associated with the illegal killing of elephants?
Conclusion
The study identifies poor governance and low human development as key drivers of elephant poaching.
Supporting Evidence
- The study analyzed data from 6,337 elephant carcasses encountered by patrols.
- Key drivers of illegal killing identified include governance and human development.
- The analysis provides a basis for evidence-based decision making in the CITES process.
Takeaway
The study looks at how many elephants are being illegally killed and why, finding that bad government and low development lead to more poaching.
Methodology
The study used a Bayesian hierarchical modeling approach to analyze carcass encounter data from 66 sites in Africa and Asia.
Potential Biases
Potential biases include under-reporting of illegal killings and variability in detection probabilities of carcasses.
Limitations
The data may not be representative of all elephant range areas, and there are challenges in standardizing patrol effort across sites.
Participant Demographics
Data were collected from 66 sites across 36 range states in Africa and Asia.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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