Arusha. Tanzania, once among Africa's leading elephant strongholds, has recorded a sharp decline in its elephant population over the past 20 years, according to the new findings of the National Wildlife Census 2024/2025. The census shows that elephant numbers have fallen from more than 134,000 in 2005 to 66,714 currently, reflecting long-term pressure from poaching and human-driven environmental change. A report released in Arusha on Thursday, June 17, 2026, by the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (Tawiri) indicates that Tanzania now ranks third in Africa in elephant population, behind Botswana, with about 130,000 elephants, and Zimbabwe, with around 100,000.