Page - January 19, 2010
Estimated Population: N/A - Endangered. Forest elephant populations are generally believed to be smaller and more endangered than elephant populations elsewhere in Africa.
Ways to identify this species: Forest Elephants are distinct in many ways from their larger cousins on the African savannahs, and preliminary genetic evidence suggests they may be a distinct species. In addition to being significantly smaller than savannah elephants, forest elephants have more rounded ears, and smaller, straighter tusks with a slightly pinkish tint. Their lower jaw is longer, giving the forest elephant a long, narrow face. They are also darker than savannah elephants.
Biology
- Forest elephants are found in lowland tropical and subtropical rainforests and woodlands of central western Africa.
- African elephants survive on a diet of herbs and tree or shrubbery leaves and large amounts of water.
- They live in close social groups called herds. A herd is usually made up of related females and their offspring. The leader of the herd is called the matriarch and she is usually the oldest and most experienced female in the herd.
- It has been discovered that elephants can communicate over long distances by sending and receiving low frequency sounds, a sub-sonic rumbling that can travel through the ground farther than sound travels in the air. This sound is felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the vibrations through the ground.
Threats
- Habitat loss due to logging and growing human population in its forest habitat is the primary threat facing the African forest elephant.
- The main predators of elephants are humans. While hunting of elephants is illegal, poaching is still common; and elephant ivory continues to show up in international trade despite having been banned since 1989. The extension of logging roads has allowed poaching for ivory and meat to spread into remote areas of the forest where elephants were once safe from such activities.