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Surveying elephants is hard, risky work. Dedicated biologists have been doing this challenging task across Africa for decades. Systematic surveying started in the late 1960s but has been sporadic, as access to remote areas takes logistical planning, funding and well-trained teams. Surveys can easily be derailed by civil unrest or lack of available survey teams. Consequently, the information on the numbers of elephants across Africa is spotty. Even for a single population, survey effort and coverage can change over the years.

African countries are estimated to lose $17 billion to illegal logging each year. This is part of a
global market with an economic value of $30 to $150 billion. The net profit from the illegal
charcoal trade alone in Africa is estimated to be as much as $9 billion, "compared to the [$]2.65
billion worth of street value heroin and cocaine in the region." High-value timber species are in
immense global demand, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
reporting that Africa’s share of rosewood exports to China rose from 40 percent in 2008 to 90

According to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), 322 elephants were killed by poachers between 2016 and 2019, largely for their tusks. These are then shipped out to Asia, via South Africa, but the real number may be much higher, according to wildlife groups. Much of the poaching occurs in northern Zimbabwe in game reserves straddling the border with Zambia, according to ZimParks, a statutory body responsible for managing the country’s wildlife population.