Without intervention, as much as 96% of central african forests will have modified species composition and structure as elephants are. African elephants are also losing their habitat as the human population grows and people convert land for agriculture and development. African elephants can live to be 70 years old in the wild. The noninvasive monitoring of population size and demography is critical to effective conservation, but forest living taxa can be difficult to directly observe due to elusiveness andor inaccessible habitat.
Afef is the african forest elephant foundation working to highlight the fast decline toward extinction of the largely forgotten forest elephants who unbeknown to the world are suffering the same and worse fate that their savannah cousins in central africa and aims to preserve their place, along with that of their forest habitat, into the future. Elephant facts and information facts about elephants, african elephants and asian elephants. Genetic evidence for two species of elephant in africa. Occurs across a wide range of habitats savanna, forest and desert and is. Savanna elephants are larger than forest elephants, and. Sept 2014 6 diet the african elephant is herbivorous. African forest elephant closely resembles african bush elephant. An elephant foot has 5 toes but not every toe has a nail. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a shoulder. Dna analysis has recently shown that african savannah and forest elephants are geneti cally distinct enough to be considered two separate species. Your affirmation that the african forest elephant and the african savannah elephant are separate species nature 537, 7. African animals list with pictures, facts, information.
Elephant anatomy, habitat, feeding, reproduction and elephant predators introduction to elephants. The african forest elephant loxodonta cyclotis is one of the two living african elephant species. Out of the three major species of elephants found in africa and asia, the african forest elephant is the smallest and the third largest land animal of the world. Forest elephants have the slowest reproductive rate of the three elephant species. Established in 1964, the iucn red list of threatened species has evolved to become the worlds most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species. Most h erbivor es plant eaters, like the elephant possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. The habitat use and selection of african elephants. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouths. This groundbreaking study has the largest dataset on this species and its findings showed that their population has declined dramatically by 62 percent in the last decade. The three known species are the african bush elephant, the african forest elephant and the asian elephant. African elephants range throughout the savannas of subsaharan africa and the rainforests of central and west africa. The african elephants are quite distinct in appearance from. African forest elephants are expected to live between 60 to 70 years.
African forest elephant, picture 2 of 8 az animals. Pdf focus on the african elephant loxodonta africana. It is native to humid forests in west africa and the congo basin. There are two subspecies of the african elephant the african forest elephant and the african bush elephant. They are easily distinguished by their very large earswhich allow them to radiate excess heatand front legs which are noticeably longer than the hind legs.
Central africa elephant conservation strategy iucn. This page was last edited on 1 november 2019, at 18. The african forest elephant and the asian elephant both have 5 toenails on the front feet and 4 on the back feet. Of all the three elephant species, forest elephants have the slowest reproductive rate. The african elephant is the largest land animal on earth. Ffi protects forest elephants in the forest landscape of ziamawonegiziwologizifoya. This species of elephant normally has five toenails which is one more than you would see with an african bush elephant. The african forest elephant is much smaller on average in size and rarely reaches a height more than 8 feet tall. It is often considered a separate species from the african bush elephant loxodonta africana. Devastating decline of forest elephants in central africa. The african bush elephant loxodonta africana, also known as the african savanna elephant. Abundance, density, and social structure of african forest.
Loxodonta africana the african savannah or african bush elephant. Distribution and status of elephants in west africa pdf. Adult african bush elephants can drink about 50 gallons of water a day, with 1. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a shoulder height of 2. The common belief that there existed pygmy and water elephants has no basis. Smaller than the african savanna elephant, the forest elephant weighs around 5,950 lbs 2. Elephants a very wrinkly and have sparse hair across the body. See the fact file below for more information on the african elephant or alternatively, you can download our 28page african elephants worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment. Although hard to imagine because of their size, they are herbivores.
Forest elephants are found most commonly in countries with relatively large blocks of dense forest such as gabon, the democratic republic of congo drc, cameroon and central african republic in central africa and cote divoire, liberia, and ghana in west africa. Over the last 100 years, african elephant populations have declined from 35 million to 470,000690,000 and asian elephant populations have declined from 100,000 to between 35,000 and 50,000. The african elephant is listed as endangered by the u. Current protected areas do not adequately provide habitat for long. Maisels strindberg et al 20 devastating decline of forest elephants in central africa. Pdf devastating decline of forest elephants in central. There are more than 40,000 muscles and tendons in the elephant trunk. Elephants are known for their large ears, tusks made of ivory and their trunks which are actually a fusion of their nose and upper lip. Their ears are more ovalshaped ears and their tusks are straighter and point downward the tusks of savanna elephants curve outwards. Using genetic profiles of african forest elephants to infer population structure, movements, and habitat use in a conservation and. African forest elephant is noticeably smaller than african bush elephant.
The interesting features that you can spot on african elephants include the tusk and large ears. African forest elephant loxodonta cyclotis about animals. Aff voices the concerns of african forestry stakeholders, and to use science, indigenous knowledge, and experience to advocate for increasing relevance of forests and trees outside forests to peoples livelihoods, national economies and the stability of the environment. The scientific name of the african elephant is loxodonta. African elephant actually two separate species live. Individuals were absent from closed vegetation, forest plantations, urban areas, or bare areas. They are found throughout the grassy plains and bushlands of africa. For further information about the african wildlife foundation and its current projects please write to awf at. However, in 2001 scientific data identified that african elephants are actually two different species, the african savannah, loxodonta africana and the african forest loxodonta cyclotis, the primary differences with their physical confirmation is that the african forest elephant is more slender, slightly smaller with straighter, smaller tusk and their ears are more rounded. The habitat use and selection of african elephants loxodonta africana in a land use landscape in kenya, africa.
The african forest elephant loxodonta cyclotis was until recently considered a subspecies of the african bush elephant loxodonta africana. Habitat loss and conflict with people are among the biggest threats to their continued survival. African forest elephant plural african forest elephants one of the two species of african elephant, loxodonta cyclotis. Forest elephants are smaller than savanna elephants, the other african elephant subspecies. Only three elephant species and four subspecies are alive today. Savanna elephants have tusks that curve, forest elephants have tusk pointing straight downward.
African elephant facts information about the african. Pdf the ecological consequences of forest elephant declines for. African forest elephants use their thick ivory tusks, their toes and their truck for self defence. In the last few years there have been very large and frequent ivory seizures in africa and asia, and the combination of.
There are two subspecies of african elephantsthe savanna or bush elephant and the forest elephant. Although the african forest elephant is slightly smaller than the african bush elephant, it is still one of the. Click on the pictures to discover more about each species. The african forest elephant loxodonta cyclotis, which lives in rainforests, was recognized as a separate species in 2000 and is smaller than the savanna elephant.
Morphology of the deciduous tusk tush of the african elephant loxodonta africana pdf. However, since the two groups can interbreed successfully, they may only be separate subspecies of loxodonta africana. African wildlife foundation is funding research, like the plos one study, to create comprehensive data on the forest elephant. The african forest elephant has no real natural predators to threaten its survival, mainly due to the african forest elephants sheer size. The african bush elephant is threatened foremost by habitat loss and fragmentation following conversion of natural habitat for. African forest elephant as the name suggests, the african forest elephant is a forest dwelling creature that is mainly found roaming the forests of western and central africa. The african forest elephant has a longer and narrower mandible, rounder ears, a different number of toenails, straighter and downward tusks, and considerably smaller size. What degree of climate variability is the species currently exposed to. The african elephant is a transboundary species, with individuals known to travel across several countries. As the common name indicates, the african forest elephant is mainly found in forested areas, in small herds led by a senior female, the matriarch. Basic elephant facts global sanctuary for elephants. Africa is the worlds second largest continent asia is the largest. African forest elephant loxodonta cyclotis az animals. African elephant action plan 31 drawn up by all of the african elephant range states, ranked poaching and illegal trade in elephant products as the top threat to elephants across the continent.
You can find this big animals living in 37 countries in africa. In this case, any population decline caused by poaching, bushmeat trade, logging operations, and natural resource extraction is more devastating. They range in color from light to dark gray, with the most. The african forest elephant loxodonta cyclotis is the smallest of the two species of african elephant, reaching a size of up to 6 feet tall and weighing between 2. Endangered species act, and splitting the population into two different species places the forest elephant in. Bush and forest elephants are nowadays generally considered to be two distinct species. When they graze, they use their trunks to grasp at the leaves of trees and shrubbery. Study of african forest elephants helps guide research. Elephants need a lot of room to roam, so habitat destruction. With habitats ranging from tropical rainforest to desert, africa is home to many of the worlds bestknown animals. African forest elephant simple english wikipedia, the. Welcome to the african forest forum african forest forum.
Over a long period of time, the forest elephant gene pool would become diluted and displaced by that of the savanna elephants, but the forest dna would be. Forest elephants are more generally threatened than the savannah subspecies due to poaching and loss of forest habitat. The sexually mature age of these elephants is not until 23 and then the average gestation period is about two years. African forest elephant classification and evolutionthe african forest elephant is one of two elephant subspecies found on the african continent. An easy way to tell the forest elephant and the savanna elephant apart is by counting toenails. Phylogenetic relationships for asian, african forest, and african savannah elephants inferred from combined analyses of 1732 bp bgn, chrna1, gba, andvim. Elephants can grow over feet tall and weigh up to 15,000 pounds. The african forest elephant loxodonta cyclotis is an elephant which lives in the forests of the congo basin. The continents northernmost elephants are found in sahel area of mali.
However, recent reserach involving dna has produced the results that there are actually three main species of elephant. The african bush elephants are by far the largest, growing up to 3. An adult african elephant can reach a massive weight of 7 tons and be as tall as 12 feet. African elephant, facts and photos national geographic. Savanna elephants are the largest subspecies of elephant. There are also differences in the size and shape of the skull and skeleton. Both sexes have straight, downpointing tusks, which erupt when they are years old. However, it is not uncommon for large carnivores such as lions and hyenas to pick out a calf that has strayed from the herd or an adult that is more vulnerable from ill health or old age. The african elephant is the largest of the elephant species and resides south of the sahara desert. This has been true of african forest elephants loxodonta cyclotis, for which we have limited information regarding population size and social behavior despite their threatened. The african savanna, or bush, elephant loxodonta africana weighs up to 8,000 kg 9 tons and stands 3 to 4 metres 10 to feet at the shoulder.
In fact, until recently, these two species were considered to be the same. There are two species of elephants remaining in the world the african and the asian. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash and burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. African elephant is originated from african continent. African elephant simple english wikipedia, the free. A separate species african forest elephant foundation. Both female and male african elephants have tusks which they use to help find and dig for food.