"As a result of increased deforestation, wild Asian elephant numbers in Myanmar have dwindled from 10,000 in the 1960s to under an estimate of 2000 by 2004. Myanmar still has the largest tract of intact elephant habitat in Asia and could support a larger number of wild elephants than the current estimated population. With Myanmar’s human population projected to increase, elephants in the nature are being pressured for loss of habitat. A programme from Elephant Family, an NGO protecting Asian elephants from extinction, and partners aim to work by educating school children and also having a scheme to inform local communities about land management. Elephants are known as “keystone species” for their crucial role in the ecosystem to maintain the biodiversity in which they live. The Asian elephant’s habitat ranges across 13 countries in Asia, but it is an endangered species with less than 40,000 remaining worldwide, which is less than one-tenth of the African elephant population. According to government statistics, during the eight-year period from 2010 to 2018, a total of 227 elephants died across the country, of which 124 were killed by poachers..."