Ahead of World Elephant Day this Sunday, 12 August, African Parks wanted you to be the first to hear the good news from Zakouma National Park.

Zakouma has had a very troubled past. Between 2002 to 2010 approximately 4,000 elephants were killed for their ivory, and only 450 elephants remained. African Parks assumed management of the park in 2010 on behalf of the Chadian Government, and we immediately overhauled law enforcement and worked with the surrounding communities to bring much-needed security to the region.

Today, elephants and other wildlife populations have stabilized and are on the increase. Poaching has drastically been reduced (only 24 known elephants have been poached in the last eight years) and safety has been restored.

There is promising news coming from the April park-wide survey results: the population has been confirmed at 559 elephants.

And earlier this year, we counted 127 calves under the age of five years old; in 2011 we counted one. Since 2016, this is the first time in decades that Zakouma’s elephants are on the rise.

Not only have elephants benefited from effective park management and the efforts of our rangers, but Zakouma has become the largest employer in the region; last year over 1,200 children received an education from schools built and supported by the park; and tourism is flourishing delivering critical revenue back to the park and surrounding communities.

This is all depicted here in this two-minute, short film.