Background - March 10, 2006
Mysterious Giant of the African Forests.
Forest elephants appreciate the mineral-rich mud of this natural clearing in the rainforest.
So far only a few people have seen the Forest elephant and for
decades it was thought by some people to not even exist.
Forest elephants spend up to 19 hours a day eating, munching
their way through up to 100 kilograms of food a day! They have
finger-like projections on the tip of their trunk, which helps them
rip leaves off trees.
You may have heard of the saying: "An elephant never forgets",
well this is because they are very intelligent and fast
learners.
However, the number of these shy forest giants is decreasing,
mainly due to the destruction of the rainforest that they live in,
which once stretched across Africa from Senegal to Uganda.
Now over 85 percent of the forest is gone, mainly due to
logging. The last of their forest home stretches across regions of
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
But it is not only the Forest elephant's future that is
uncertain, the forest is also home to other animals such as the
little known Okapi and Congo Peacock as well as around 12 million
forest-dwelling people who depend on the forest for shelter,
medicine and food.
The ancient forests and their famous animals inhabitants need
your help.
Click here to take action today to help save the homes of these magnificent animals!