{
  "id": 15691352,
  "title": "Large animals are living carbon stores. Does that make saving them a climate solution?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/large-animals-are-living-carbon-stores-does-that-make-saving-them-a",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-20T02:47:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/large-animals-are-living-carbon-stores-does-that-make-saving-them-a-climate-solution/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Great herds of elephants once roamed across Africa, playing a crucial role in shaping the landscape, ecosystems, and even the carbon balance, according to recent scientific findings. Over the past five centuries, humans have decimated elephant populations, with some estimates suggesting a staggering 98% loss. The IUCN reports around 1.3 million savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the 1970s, while research indicates a 70% decline in savanna elephants and an 90% decline in forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) due to hunting and habitat loss. As scientists explore the links between carbon and large animals, efforts are underway to \"rewild\" landscapes to aid climate mitigation. The ocean's massive whales, the largest creatures to have ever existed on Earth, also hold potential as substantial carbon reservoirs. Their bodies, which live for decades, absorb carbon, and their nutrient-rich waste supports phytoplankton, which in turn absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide. Even after they die, whales' remains may sink to the ocean floor, where deep-sea organisms feed on them, preventing carbon from entering the atmosphere. Centuries of hunting have drastically reduced these numbers, raising questions about whether saving these large animals could be a viable climate solution.",
  "summary": "Great herds of elephants once crisscrossed Africa, and scientists have no doubt that they shaped the landscape, ecosystems and — as recent science has shown — the balance of carbon. Though it’s difficult to be certain of exact numbers, some scientists muse that over the past five centuries, humans have driven a loss of 98% […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}