( CNN ) -- The bodies of young elephants covered in the brown dirt of dried-up wells tell a heartrending story . A baby elephant in the Gourma region of central Mali had been trapped in a well for three days . Reaching desperately for drops of water , they had lowered their trunks , toppled in , remained trapped and died in Mali 's scorching heat . The `` last desert elephants in West Africa '' have `` adapted to survive in the harsh conditions '' they face , Save the Elephants said Monday . But now , the group says , conditions have gone from bad to worse , and they are living `` on the margin of what is ecologically viable . '' Save the Elephants distributed new pictures Monday that depict the devastating drought and the struggle for survival in Mali , one of the poorest nations in the world . `` Six elephants have already been found dead , '' the group wrote in a news release accompanying the photos . `` Four others , including three calves , were recently extracted from a shallow well into which they had fallen when searching for water . Only the largest survived . '' The youngest are in the most danger , since their smaller trunks ca n't reach deep into the few remaining wells , the group said . The worst drought in 26 years is threatening the existence of the `` last desert elephants in West Africa , '' the northernmost herds in the continent , Save the Elephants said . The animals , now numbering only about 350 to 450 , have been called `` the last elephants of Timbuktu , '' said Jake Wall , a scientist with Save the Elephants . But they 're south of Timbuktu , Wall told CNN in a phone interview from Bamako , Mali . `` We tend to refer to them as 'the last Sahelian elephants . ' `` See a map of Mali » . Each year , the elephants trek farther on the fringes of the Sahara to find water . They have the longest migration route of any in the continent , traveling `` in a counterclockwise circle '' of about 700 kilometers ( 435 miles ) , Save the Elephants said . The images are signs of the crisis gripping the northwest African nation . The U.N. Development Programme ranks Mali near the bottom of its Human Development Index . It cites a 56 percent poverty rate in the country , with nearly a third of the population unlikely to live past age 40 , and an illiteracy rate of 77 percent . The World Food Programme says the majority of infant deaths in Mali are due to malnutrition . The drought , combined with soaring temperatures , has also led to deaths of cattle , Save the Elephants said . `` The stench of rotting corpses fills the air , and what little water remains is putrid and undrinkable by all standards . '' In areas where the elephants live and search for water , `` the normal peaceful coexistence between the elephants and herdsmen is starting to break down and giving way to conflict over access to water , '' Wall said . There is some hope for the weeks and months ahead . `` We 're hoping the rains start in June , and that will allow the elephants to start drinking out of shallow ponds until the really heavy rains begin '' in July or August , Wall said . But `` urgent action '' is needed in the interim `` to secure water for the elephants , '' Wall 's group said in its news release . Save the Elephants , which focuses on helping elephant populations worldwide , said it has partnered with a foundation and the Mali government in its fundraising appeal .
elephants dying in Mali are among 350 to 400 left in the area . Save the Elephant releases photos of elephants struggling during drought . Soaring heat is killing cattle , which is contributing to air pollution , group says . There is hope that rain in Mali will provide relief to elephants .