In some Congo basin forests, poaching kills up to 10 percent of the elephant population annually.
The elephant population dropped from some 1.3 million in 1979 to 470, 000 or even fewer today.
And while the government has its own service, it's not able to keep up with the rapidly growing elephant population.
Within a single decade, Africa's total elephant population was reduced by more than 50 percent, from an estimated 1, 300, 000 to 600, 000.
Kenya's elephant population fell from 40, 000 in 1970 to 5, 000 in 1988, and only began to rise when the trading ban was enforced.
Spokesman Ajantha Palihawadana said such captures would interfere with nature by removing some of the best genetic stock from the elephant population, including some with tusks which are relatively rare.
Moemi Batshabang, assistant director for management and utilisation in Botswana's wildlife department, believes the sale is necessary for his country and that culling is unavoidable because of a growing elephant population.
Namibia's elephant population has grown by two-thirds since 1989.
In South Africa's Kruger park, for example, 120 rangers whose main job is deterring poachers employ CyberTrackers to record and map the damage done to trees by the park's burgeoning elephant population.
The elephant population in central Africa, where the worst of the killing is believed to be taking place, has dropped significantly over the past 10 years, according to estimates cited by Bas Huijbregts, head of field programs for the conservation organization WWF in the Congo Basin region.
But in some ways the changes ignored the elephant in the room: the changing nature of the patient population.
If these odds sound unpromising, head to Knysna Elephant Park, a pioneering elephant rehabilitation centre, 22km east of Knysna, where you can learn more about the plight of the diminished local population through various activities, including guided walks with the resident nellies.
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