Country Area - 118,480 km²
Range Area - 7,789 km² (7%)
Protected Range - 89%
Information Quality Index (IQI) - 0.55
CITES Appendix - I
Listing Year - 1990
Because of the country’s high human population density, Malawi's elephants are almost entirely confined to protected areas. As a consequence, elephant populations in Malawi are small and fragmented. Human-elephant conflict is prevalent as a result, and poaching for meat and ivory is believed to be further reducing certain populations.
In an attempt to manage these populations a number of translocations have taken place in the last ten years. In 2006, 70 elephants were moved into Majete Wildlife Reserve from Liwonde National Park and a further 64 were moved in 2008 (Macpherson, 2012). In 2009, 83 elephants were moved into Majete WR from Phirilongwe Forest (Cunliffe, 2010).
Co-management of protected areas in Malawi is well established with the African Parks Network taking contractual responsibility for the management of Majete WR in 2003, and Liwonde NP and Nkhotakota Game Reserve in 2015.
In 2015, as part of the Elephant Protection Initiative, Malawi developed a draft 10-year national action plan for elephant management. This strategy is still under review. In addition Malawi is undertaking a review of the national wildlife policy (Ministry of Information, Tourism and Culture, 2014) as well as an illegal wildlife trade assessment (Lewis & Clark Law School, 2014).
In recent analyses of seizure data in ETIS, prepared for CITES, Malawi has been identified as a country with a worrying involvement in illegal ivory trade (CITES Secretariat, 2012; Milliken et al., 2013, 2016). Malawi has formed an Inter-Agency Committee to Combat Wildlife Crime (The Times Group, 2016) and in 2013, suspended its domestic ivory trade. In March 2016, following a national ivory inventory, Malawi destroyed approximately 2.6 tonnes of ivory (Reuters, 2016).
The estimated number of elephants in areas surveyed in the last ten years in Malawi is 1,307 at the time of the last survey for each area. There may be an additional 398 elephants in areas not systematically surveyed. These guesses likely represent a minimum number, and actual numbers could be higher than those reported. Together, this estimate and guess apply to 5,616 km², which is 72% of the estimated known and possible elephant range. There remains an additional 28% of the estimated range for which no elephant population estimates are available.
An aerial total count was conducted by helicopter in Nyika National Park in 2013 in which 47 elephants were seen (Macpherson, 2013c). However, because elephants occur in heavily wooded and rugged country, it is likely that some were missed. This replaces a sample count estimate of 339 ± 239 from 1997 (Gibson, 1997). A ground survey in 2005 in part of the Nyika NP resulted in a zero estimate (Ferreira et al., 2005) and a total aerial count in 2009 also gave a zero estimate (WCS Flight Programme, 2009), showing the difficulty of carrying out surveys in Nyika NP. Since elephants were observed in the south-west of the park in the 2013 survey, an additional area of known range was added. This population extends a short distance into Zambia (Macpherson, 2013c).
In Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve to the south-west of Nyika NP 310 elephants were observed during an aerial total count in 2013 (Macpherson, 2013d). This replaces a guess of 270 (Ferreira et al., 2005) based on an uncompleted survey. A lower intensity total count was carried out in 2009 with 151 elephants observed (WCS Flight Programme, 2009).
Kasungu National Park used to hold Malawi’s largest elephant population. However, in 2014, only 40 elephants were counted in Kasungu NP during an aerial total count (Macpherson, 2015a) which was part of the Great Elephant Census. Elephants now only occur in the immediate vicinity of the park headquarters and the area of known range has been adjusted accordingly. This replaces an estimate from 2005 of 58 ± 218 (Ferreira et al., 2005).
A ground sample count of Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve in 2013 provided an estimate of 92 elephants, compared to 169 in 2011 (Sichali & Mkumbwa, 2014). The 2013 estimate replaces one of 1,037 ± 1,511 from a sample block count in 1995 (Japan Overseas Forestry Consultants Association & Pasco International Incorporated, 1997). There are doubts as to the validity of the 1995 numbers, since even in the 1980s there were thought to be no more than 300 elephants in the reserve. The northern section has been changed to doubtful range (Macpherson, 2013b).
The Thuma and Dedza-Salima Forest Reserves lie on the escarpment between Lilongwe and Lake Malawi. In 2015 a minimum of 133 elephants were observed during a ground total count (Clifford, 2016). This replaces a guess of 30-50 from 1998 (Munthali, pers. comm., 1998). The area of known range has been refined to fit the actual distribution.
It is believed that six elephant remained in the Phirilongwe Forest after the translocation exercise (Kaunga-Nyirenda, pers. comm., 2014). This replaces a guess of 50 elephants from 1998 (Munthali, pers. comm., 1998).
Liwonde NP on the Shire River close to Lake Malawi holds Malawi’s largest population. Seven hundred and seventy seven elephants were observed in an aerial total count in 2014, which was part of the Great Elephant Census (Macpherson, 2015b). This replaces a guess of 530 from 2006 (African Parks Foundation, 2006). Aerial surveys were carried out on an annual basis from 2007 to 2012, giving estimates from 404 to 696 (Macpherson, 2015b). This increase in numbers has taken place despite 134 elephants being translocated out of Liwonde. Variations in numbers may be due to seasonal movements to the north-east into the Mangochi Forest Reserve, which has been changed to known range (Macpherson, pers. comm., 2015c).
All of the elephants in the Majete WR were believed to have been exterminated by 2002. Two hundred seventeen elephants were translocated into the reserve between 2006 and 2009. A total aerial survey was carried out in 2012 during which 163 elephants were counted (Macpherson, 2012), but there are currently believed to be about 300 (Fearnhead, pers. comm., 2015), which seems more reasonable given the number brought in, and the limited amount of poaching. This guess replaces one of 70 from 2006 (African Parks Foundation, 2006). The known range has been expanded to cover the whole reserve, since the fenced elephant release area has been extended to include the whole reserve.