The function for an exponential growth/decay is given as follows;
[tex]f(x)=a(1+r)^x[/tex]Where,
[tex]\begin{gathered} x=\text{Number of years} \\ a=\text{initial value} \\ r=\text{rate of growth} \end{gathered}[/tex]Observe that from the equation provided, the rate is 1.015. This means there is a growth. If there was a decay(decrease), the rate would be less than 1 because, the formula then would be;
[tex]f(x)=a(1-r)^x[/tex]ANSWER:
Therefore, the population of elephants is INCREASING.