Population estimate for the Knysna elephants in 1876 was 500-600. By 1910 there were 40 elephants, by 1920 18, in 1970 between 11 and 13, and in 1981 this number further declined to 3: a mature bull, a cow and a calf. Poaching and human encroachment into elephant habitat are believed to be the major contributing factors for this decimation