In 2012, poachers began targeting the Gourma elephants. Now, in the face of ongoing political instability — armed militias and traffickers in arms and drugs — it seems the odds against these long-legged, small-tusked creatures are even higher.

According to newly released figures compiled from aerial footage, only about 350 elephants remain. The Mali Elephant Project, a collaboration between the Wild Foundation and the International Conservation Fund of Canada, reports that 83 elephants were killed in 2015. Already in the first two weeks of this year, 16 elephants fell victim to international ivory trafficking. And, the project warned recently, Mali's desert elephants could go extinct in just a few years. 

Read More at www.news.vice.com