BEFORE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR Photo by Tara Easter PETITION TO RECLASSIFY AND UPLIST AFRICAN ELEPHANTS FROM THREATENED TO ENDANGERED UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT AS TWO SEPARATE SPECIES: FOREST ELEPHANTS (Loxodonta cyclotis) AND SAVANNAH ELEPHANTS (Loxodonta africana) JUNE 10, 2015 CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY NOTICE OF PETITION Sally Jewell, Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington, D.C. 20240 [email protected] Dan Ashe, Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1849 C Street NW Washington, D.C. 20240 [email protected] Douglas Krofta, Chief Branch of Listing, Endangered Species Program U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 420 Arlington, VA 22203 [email protected] PETITIONER The Center for Biological Diversity (Center) is a non-profit, public interest environmental organization dedicated to the protection of native species and their habitats through science, policy, and environmental law. The Center is supported by more than 900,000 members and activists throughout the United States. The Center and its members are concerned with the conservation of endangered species and the effective implementation of the Endangered Species Act. Submitted this 10th day of June, 2015 Pursuant to Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b); section 553(e) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 553(e); and 50 C.F.R. § 424.14(a), the Center for Biological Diversity hereby petitions the Secretary of the Interior, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS or Service), to reclassify and uplist African elephants from Threatened to Endangered as two separate species: forest elephants, (Loxodonta cyclotis) and savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana). FWS has jurisdiction over this petition. This petition sets in motion a specific process, placing definite response requirements on FWS. Specifically, the Service must issue an initial finding as to whether the petition “presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted.” 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(3)(A). FWS must make this initial finding “[t]o the maximum extent practicable, within 90 days after receiving the petition.” Id. Respectfully Submitted, Tara Easter Brendan Cummings Scientist Senior Attorney & Strategic Litigation Group Director Noah Greenwald Sarah Uhlemann Endangered Species Program Director Senior Attorney & International Program Director On behalf of all parties, ________ June 10, 2015 Center for Biological Diversity PO Box 11374 Portland, OR 97211 (971) 717-6408 [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. i-vi INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1 TAXONOMY ....................................................................................................................................... 1 NATURAL HISTORY ......................................................................................................................... 5 Description ................................................................................................................................... 5 Behavior ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Reproduction ................................................................................................................................ 7 Feeding and Ecology .................................................................................................................... 7 Habitat Requirements ................................................................................................................... 8 POPULATION AND DISTRIBUTION STATUS AND TRENDS .................................................... 9 Historical Abundance and Range, Context for Current Trends ................................................... 10 Current Range ............................................................................................................................... 10 Population Status and Trends by Species and Region ................................................................. 11 Forest Elephants in Central Africa ....................................................................................... 12 Forest Elephants in West Africa ........................................................................................... 16 Savannah Elephants in Central and West Africa ................................................................. 17 Savannah Elephants in Eastern Africa ................................................................................. 19 Savannah Elephants in Southern Africa ............................................................................... 21 African Elephant Database Summaries 2012 ............................................................................... 22 DISTINCT POPULATION SEGMENTS ............................................................................................ 24 THREATS ............................................................................................................................................. 27 Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment of its Habitat or Range .......... 28 Human Population Growth ................................................................................................... 29 Land Use Changes and Barriers to Movement ..................................................................... 30 Natural Resource Development ................................................................................... 30 Fencing and Other Barriers .......................................................................................... 32 Agriculture and Desertification .................................................................................... 34 Human-Elephant Conflict .................................................................................................... 36 Climate Change .................................................................................................................... 38 Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or Educational Purposes ................... 39 Ivory Trade ........................................................................................................................... 39 Background and Context for Current Threats .............................................................. 39 Current Trends in Illegal Ivory Trade and Poaching ................................................... Legal Trade in Ivory and Other Elephant Parts ........................................................... 58 Disease and Predation .................................................................................................................. 58 Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms ......................................................................... 59 CITES ................................................................................................................................... 59 Appendices ................................................................................................................... 59 Permit Exemptions ....................................................................................................... 62 Terms Defined by CITES Resolutions and FWS ......................................................... 63 Elephant Specific Resolutions ..................................................................................... 64 U.S. Laws ............................................................................................................................. 65 Endangered Species Act ............................................................................................... 66 African Elephant Conservation Act ............................................................................. 66 Lacey Act ..................................................................................................................... 67 Director’s Order No. 210 ............................................................................................. 67 Other Factors ................................................................................................................................ 69 War and Political Instability ................................................................................................. 69 Other Socio-Economic Factors ............................................................................................ 72 Small Population Size .......................................................................................................... 74 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 74 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 75 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Forest and savannah elephant population trends .................................................................... 12 Table 2: Estimates of forest elephant numbers in Central Africa in 1989 ............................................ 13 Table 3: Elephant population