“An elephant is killed because of poaching every 25 minutes”, warns Paul Esteve

Since Thursday, March 25, the African forest elephant is classified as a species “critically endangered” on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). “An elephant is killed due to poaching every 25 minutes”, explains Paul Esteve, member of the French IUCN Committee. But that’s not the only threat hanging over these large mammals. “There is also the loss of habitat, caused by agriculture, by the construction of infrastructure and linked to deforestation,” specifies the guest of the 23h of franceinfo, Saturday March 27.

The total disappearance of this species would also not be without consequences for the planet. “Elephants play a key role in ecosystems, in the dispersal of seeds as well as in forest regeneration, decrypts Paul Esteve. You could say that the health of our planet depends, in a way, on the condition of elephants and their habitat. “