African forest elephants are the elusive cousin of the African savanna elephant.

They inhabit the dense

rainforests of west and central Africa. Their preference for dense forest habitat prohibits traditional
counting methods such as visual identification. Their population is usually estimated through "dung
counts"—an analysis on the ground of the density and distribution of the feces.

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African forest elephant

forest elephant WW139203

© Brent Stirton / Getty Images

AFRICAN ELEPHANT

AFRICAN FOREST ELEPHANT

Top

Facts

FACTS

CR

STATUS

Critically Endangered

HEIGHT

8-10 feet

WEIGHT

2-5 tons

HABITATS

dense tropical forests

African forest elephants are the elusive cousin of the African savanna elephant. They inhabit the dense
rainforests of west and central Africa. Their preference for dense forest habitat prohibits traditional
counting methods such as visual identification. Their population is usually estimated through "dung
counts"—an analysis on the ground of the density and distribution of the feces.
African forest elephants are smaller than African savanna elephants, the other African elephant species.
Their ears are more oval-shaped and their tusks are straighter and point downward (the tusks of
savanna elephants curve outwards). There are also differences in the size and shape of the skull and
skeleton. Forest elephants also have a much slower reproductive rate than savanna elephants, so they
cannot bounce back from population declines as quickly at the same rate. Their last strongholds are
located in Gabon and the Republic of Congo, with smaller populations remaining in other African
countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea) and Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Ghana
in west Africa.

African forest elephants live in family groups of up to 20 individuals and forage on leaves, grasses, seeds,
fruit, and tree bark. Since the diet of forest elephants is dominated by fruit, they play a crucial role in
dispersing many tree species, particularly the seeds of large trees which tend to have high carbon
content. They are therefore referred to as the 'mega-gardener of the forest'. To supplement their diet
with minerals, they gather at mineral-rich waterholes and mineral licks found throughout the forest.