Chase, a conservation biologist and founder of Elephants Without Borders, this year began what will become the most extensive count of great mammals on the African continent ever. In partnership with Vulcan, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's investment company, Chase's aptly named Great Elephant Census aims to document more than 90 percent of the world's pachyderms in 21 countries. Six months in, the numbers are sobering.
"Depending on what day you catch me on, some days leave me inspired and other days incredibly depressed," Chase told The Huffington Post from Botswana.
"These are unsustainable rates of killing," Chase said.
Many high-profile names have signed onto the anti-poaching movement, and there's strong support from government agencies in Africa. But Chase said there really isn't an accurate count for how many elephants remain on the continent. Some elephant groups, thought to be thriving, are already doomed, he said.
"Ethiopia's Babile Elephant Sanctuary , which was believed to have had possibly 300 elephants -- we only counted 36," Chase said. There's "one bull left in that herd. Once he's gone, that's it. It's no longer viable. They will be wiped out, the last herd in the horn of Africa."
Several high-profile elephant killings have made headlines over the past few months, including the slaughter of Satao , a famed 45-year-old bull whose tusks almost reached the ground. His face had been so badly mutilated it took nearly 10 days to confirm his identity.
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Chase and his team were in Kenya in April, and are believed to be some of the last people to capture the "free-roaming lord of the African savannah" on film. Though the elephant had been a prime target for poachers for decades, his death sent waves throughout the conservation community.
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