No elephants were poached in a major wildlife reserve in Mozambique in the last year

That's one victory for wildlife conservation.

Niassa, one of the largest wildlife preserves on the African continent, situated in a remote region in northern Mozambique, has marked a year without a single elephant found killed by poachers; the last time a killing was reported was May 17 of last year.

Thousands of animals have reportedly been slaughtered in the region in recent years, but the introduction of a rapid intervention police force and more assertive patrolling and response by air has apparently quelled the damage, the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, which co-manages the reserve with Mozambique's government and other partners, said.

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Experts have called the drop in elephant poaching an extraordinary development. But despite the progress, it reportedly could still take years to rebuild the elephant population in Niassa to its former levels after aggressive poaching cut initial numbers from around 12,000 to 3,600 in 2016.

Still, wildlife experts are excited by the news. "This represents a major success," George Wittemyer, the chair of the scientific board for the Kenya-based organization, Save the Elephants, told The Associated Press. Other nearby reserves, such as Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve, have also seen recent declines in poaching. Read more at The Associated Press.