Localized extinction almost certain as African elephant population plunges by 30 percent in 7 years

Scientists estimate that before European colonization, the elephant population in Africa numbered around 20 million. By 1979, that number was a mere 1.3 million. But now, following the first major study of its scale and kind, the population of elephants living in Africa is estimated to be just over 350,000, CNN reports.

Due primarily to rampant poaching, between 2007 and 2014 the number of elephants in Africa dropped by 30 percent. In some regions, it dropped by more than 75 percent:

To reach their conclusions, the team of 90 scientists and 286 crew members spent 10,000 hours over 18 African countries to count the elephants from the air. South Sudan and the Central African Republic were not included in the study results due to armed conflict, nor was Namibia, which refused to release numbers.

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"[Elephants] are our living dinosaurs, the romance of a bygone era, and if we can't conserve the African elephants, I'm fearful to think about the fate of the rest of Africa's wildlife," Chase said. Read the full report on the elephant census at CNN.