Distribution & Biology

Distribution

Elephants in Africa are of two species: savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) and forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis). While this distinction had been recognised for some considerable time by people living with the elephants, it was not until 2001 that clear genetic evidence was presented by the scientific community, although some debate continued. Official acknowledgement by international organisations took longer: the Convention for Migratory Species (CMS) listed the two species separately in 2008, while the IUCN listed them as discrete species in its Red List for the first time in March 2021.

There are 37 countries in sub-Saharan Africa with populations of these two species. Savanna elephants are found primarily in Eastern Africa (8 countries) and Southern Africa (9 countries), with forest elephants living mainly in the Congo Basin of Central Africa (7 countries). West Africa (13 countries) has elephants of both the savanna and forest species. The elephant population of Mauritania has disappeared since 1989, while those of Senegal and Sierra Leone are under severe threat and at very low numbers.

Elephant populations in West Africa are distributed in small patches of highly fragmented habitat; while available habitat is more continuously distributed in Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, fragmentation is becoming an increasing problem in all regions.

There are a few limited areas in some countries where hybridisation between the two species has occurred. This is largely where there has been severe disruption by people through habitat conversion or poaching, and elephants are forced into unfamiliar areas. For this reason, the implications for population monitoring and management of the species designation are still under review by the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG), and CITES currently recognises a single African species (L. africana) in its Identification Manual.

Habitat

African savanna elephants occupy a wide range of habitats, from near-desert in Namibia and Mali, to various types of semi-arid savanna ecosystem across much of the continent. Forest elephants primarily occupy tropical forests in Central Africa; in West Africa, they may also be found in some savanna areas in proximity to forest patches.

Biological characteristics

Genetic, as well as ecological and behavioural, findings support the designation of two species of African elephant. The savanna elephant is generally larger in stature, with bulls reaching a maximum shoulder height of 4 metres, while forest elephant bulls rarely exceed 2.5 metres. Forest elephants have smaller, rounder ears and shorter and straighter tusks, which are more off-white, almost orange/ pink, in colour. Savanna elephants live in multi-generational families and extended families, often associating in large aggregations, while social groups of forest elephants are normally smaller, generally mother-offspring units, and they come together in larger groupings less often, at key resource sites such as mineral licks. The diet of savanna elephants includes a wide range of plant types and species, from grasses and herbs, through woody shrubs and trees. Forest elephants in primary rainforest feed on grasses, herbs and shrubs when available, with fruit from large trees also a key component; in secondary forest and mixed savanna habitats, their diet is more diverse.

Role of the species in its ecosystem

African elephants play a keystone role in shaping the structure of forests, woodlands and savanna, creating spatial heterogeneity and landscape-level diversity through their foraging, dispersing seeds in their dung, and facilitating access to water for a range of other species. In forests, some tree species depend entirely on elephants for dispersal of their large, hard seeds. The loss of such keystone megafauna from ecosystems could have profound and long-lasting negative effects on ecological structure and function. When confined by artificial barriers such as fences or land use blocking natural movement corridors, this habitat modification role may be seen as locally excessive in relation to the conservation of desirable plant and animal species.

Habitat loss, through conversion of forests, savanna and corridors to commercial plantation, subsistence agriculture and settlement is the most significant long-term threat to elephant populations. The AfESG African Elephant Status Report of 2016 (AESR 2016) described a steady loss of elephant range, although it cautioned that such apparent changes cannot distinguish between contraction in true elephant range and changes/ improvements in the way range is estimated. The AESR 2016 noted recent range expansion in selected sites in Kenya and Botswana only.