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Associations

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Humans are the greatest threats to African forest elephants. They have been extensively hunted for their ivory, which may be why many African forest elephants travel and feed at night. They are also persecuted by farmers for the damage they do to crops. Crop destruction is more often the result of foraging by rats (Nesomyidae), porcupines (Hystricidae), monkeys (Cercopithecus), and river hogs (Potamochoerus porcus), but many any crop destruction on elephants. Very young African forest elephants that somehow are separated from their family group or are ill may be preyed on by large carnivores, such as lions (Panthera leo) or hyenas (Hyaenidae), although these predators are rare in African forest elephant habitats.

Known Predators:

  • humans (Homo sapiens)
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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Morphology

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African forest elephants are smaller than their close relatives, savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana). Male shoulder height is greater than female shoulder height and height increases with age. Mean shoulder height is between 144 and 155 cm (range 69 to 216 cm). Hind footprint length is helpful in determining age, mean hind footprint length is 24.7 and the median is 25.8 cm (range 12.5 to 35.3 cm). Boli width, or feces, is also a helpful factor in determining body size and, therefore, age. Average boli width is 10 cm (range 4 to 16 cm). Measurements of wild animals indicate that African forest elephants stop growing at about 10 to 12 years of age, younger than their savannah elephant relatives. Furthermore, growth rates are lower than savannah elephants. African forest elephants also have straighter and thinner tusks that hang more vertically to assist in passage through dense forests. They have rounded ears, unlike savanna elephants that have overhanging flaps along the upper edge of the ear. There are also differences in skull morphology between the two species: African forest elephants have less pneumatization, the formation of air cells or cavities in tissue, in their skulls than savanna elephants. African forest elephants have 4 toes on their front feet and 3 on the hind feet, African savanna elephants have 5 toes on their front feet and 4 on the hind feet, although hybrids occur.

Elephants have the largest brain of any land animal. The brain is located in the back of the skull away from the forehead. Their forehead holds a sponge-like bone which compensates for the heavy weight of the trunk. The trunk is more sensitive than human fingers and is used to signal, trumpet, eat, bathe, dust, smell, and in defense. Trunks are also used in respiration, especially when elephants swim. They can hold their trunks above the water and breathe through them. The large ears of African forest elephants help them regulate temperature because they have few sweat glands. They cool themselves by making a fanning motion with their ears and pump blood into the ears to help dissipate body heat. Elephants have sensitive skin and can be prone to sunburn, especially when young. Their wrinkled skin also helps in keeping them cool because water is trapped in the cracks and crevices, which then evaporates. Elephants can lose 75% of their body heat using this method of cooling. The large feet and thick fat pads on the feet act as shock absorbers to help evenly distribute the pressure of their large body mass. Their feet are sensitive and can pick up vibrations through the ground, including thunder and elephant calls from up to 10 miles away.

Range mass: 2700 to 6000 kg.

Range length: 1.6 to 2.86 m.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; sexes shaped differently; ornamentation

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Life Expectancy

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There are no reports of lifespan in Loxodonta cyclotis. Data from the previously recognized inclusive species, African elephants (Loxodonta africana) suggests lifespans of 65 to 70 years old in the wild. A living 53 year old elephant is the oldest recorded age for captive African elephants, but expected lifespan in captivity is closer to 33.

Range lifespan
Status: wild:
70 (high) years.

Range lifespan
Status: captivity:
54 (high) years.

Typical lifespan
Status: wild:
65 (high) years.

Typical lifespan
Status: captivity:
33 (high) years.

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Habitat

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African forest elephants are most populous in central and western Africa. Areas of high density are characterized by lowland tropical rainforests, semi-evergreen and semi-deciduous tropical rainforests, and swamps. Elephants change habitats seasonally, inhabiting swampy areas during the dry season, then moving back to lowland rainforest areas in the wet season. African forest elephants seek refuge in rainforest preserves because they are persecuted by local human populations. They are illegallly hunted for ivory and killed for crop-raiding.

Range elevation: 100 to 400 m.

Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest

Wetlands: swamp

Other Habitat Features: riparian

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Untitled

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Until 2001, African forest elephants were considered a smaller, forest-dwelling subspecies of the inclusive African elephant species (Loxodonta africana). However, clear genetic differences suggest that African forest elephants are quite distinct and deserved species status. Morphological and behavioral differences recognized at the subspecies level also support this distinction.

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Behavior

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African forest elephants, along with other elephants, communicate among widely dispersed social groups through low-frequency sounds (5 Hz). Because Loxodonta cyclotis is newly recognized, there is no literature on communication and perception in this species. However, it was previously recognized that African elephants are capable of recognizing a call from a family member up to a distance of 2.5 km, but can better recognize it at 1.0 to 1.5 km. Given the difference in habitat structure (savannah vs. forest), it may be expected that detection distances are shorter in African forest elephants. Hearing and smell are the two most important senses for these mammals. They can hear vibrations through the ground and can use their sense of smell to detect food sources. Like other elephants, though, African elephants have good eyesight and extremely sensitive tactile perception through their trunks and skin. Trunks are used extensively to manipulate objects and for information gathering. Elephants touch their trunk to an object, then insert the trunk into the mouth, where the chemical cues are picked up in the roof of the mouth.

Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

Other Communication Modes: pheromones ; vibrations

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; vibrations ; chemical

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Conservation Status

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The IUCN Red List considers African forest elephants a subspeces of African elephants, which they consider near threatened. CITES lists African elephants under appendices I and II. Appendix I states that the animal is threatened to extinction and trade of the animal is only allowed under certain circumstances. Appendix II states that the animal is not necessarily threatened to extinction, but trade of the animal is closely monitored.

US Federal List: threatened

CITES: appendix i; appendix ii

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: no special status

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Benefits

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African elephants have been known to cause damage to crops. They typically are attracted to sugarcane (Saccharum officianarum) and cereals like corn (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum vulgare), and wheat (Triticum vulgare). They are also attracted to many different types of millet such as finger millet (Eleusine coracana), little millet (Panicum miliare), and bulrush millet (Pennisetum typhoides). Elephants are attracted to different fruits and vegetables such as mango, banana, orange, melon, jackfruit, potato, tomato, carrot, spinach, and pumpkin. Much of the crop damage is caused by elephants trampling over crops and is only sometimes due to the eating of crops. Other crops often affected by African forest elephants include oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), oranges (Citrus sinensis), and cacao (Theobroma cacao). Elephants occasionally kill people. These are usually chance encounters where people accidentally or intentionally become too close to an elephant, causing it to feel threatened.

Negative Impacts: injures humans; crop pest

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Karen Francl, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Benefits

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African forest elephants have affected human populations in a positive way because they provide humans with ivory, hide, and meat. Different cultures have historically used elephant ivory for different purposes and it is viewed as a symbol of wealth and luxury. Ivory has been used for knife handles, combs, toys, piano keys, billiard balls, furniture, and artwork. Portuguese in the late fifteenth century exported 100 to 120 tons of ivory average every year from western Africa. In the late nineteenth century, the Congo exported 352 tons of ivory per year. Elephant ivory is no longer legally traded and poaching for ivory is a major threat to elephant populations. African forest elephants are important members of native ecosystems, impacting forest regeneration and composition.

Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Karen Francl, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Associations

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African forest elephants are important dispersers of seeds through their consumption of fruit. Forest dates (Balanites wilsoniana) are considered elephant dependent because the seed germinates more successfully after passing through an elephant. The decline of elephant populations in West African rain forests in Upper Guinea is correlated with forest date population declines. African forest elephants are also responsible for creating and maintaining large clearings in the middle of rainforests in areas where they extract mineral salts from the soil or tear down vegetation as they eat and travel. These forest openings strongly affect forest tree regeneration and increase forest tree diversity, affecting many other organisms in that area. The paths and holes in the ground that they make as they travel are used by other smaller animals for shelter or become a source of drinking water. Because of their large impact on forest composition, African forest elephants might be considered a keystone species.

Because African forest elephants were long-considered a subspecies of the inclusive African elephant species, Loxodonta africana, parasites for both species have not been sorted out. However, parasites recognized the inclusive species include: 2 species of trematodes, 32 species of nematodes, 21 species of ticks, 1 louse species, botflies, protozoans (Babesia), and blood-sucking flies in the family Anthomyidae.

Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds; creates habitat; keystone species

Mutualist Species:

  • forest dates (Balanites wilsoniana)

Commensal/Parasitic Species:

  • trematodes (Trematoda)
  • nematodes (Nematoda)
  • ticks (Acari)
  • lice (Anoplura)
  • botflies (Cuterebra)
  • protozoans (Babesia)
  • blood-sucking flies (Anthomyidae)
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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Karen Francl, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Trophic Strategy

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African forest elephants are herbivorous, their diet is composed mainly of fruit, leaves, bark, and twigs of rainforest trees. They consume a wide variety of fruit, including Antidesma vogelianum, Omphalocarpum species, Duboscia macrocarpa, Swartzia fistuloides, and Klainedoxa gabonensis. Tree species eaten include legumes such as Piptadeniastrum africanum, Petersianthus macrocarpus, and Pentaclethra eetveldeana. Diets vary regionally with available trees and fruits. African forest elephants supplement their herbivorous diet with minerals that they get by eating soil.

Plant Foods: leaves; wood, bark, or stems; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit

Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore , Frugivore , Lignivore)

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Karen Francl, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Distribution

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African forest elephants occur in central and western Africa. They can be found in northern Congo, southwestern Central African Republic, the southeast coast of Gabon, southern Ghana, and in Cote D'Ivoire. Many of these populations are isolated from each other currently.

Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Karen Francl, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Reproduction

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African forest elephants are polygynous. Males compete for access to estrus females and older, larger, more dominant males generally mate with more females. Males experience "musth," a hormonal state marked by increased aggression. During this period, the male secretes a fluid from the temporal gland between the eye and ear. Musth begins at 15 and 25 years old. There is a positive correlation between age and period of musth in male elephants. Younger males usually experience musth for a shorter period of time while older males usually experience it for a longer period of time. There are several behaviors that male elephants do while in musth. They have a more erect walk - their head held high and their tusks tucked inward. They may also rub the side of their heads on trees or bushes in order to spread their musth scent. They may wave or flap their ears which would blow the musth smell towards other elephants. At the same time the ear wave is performed, a musth rumble may be transitted. A musth rumble is a distinct set of low frequency calls they may be as low as 14 Hz. Younger males perform these calls less frequently than older males and females usually respond with their own calls. The last behavior associated with musth is urination. Males dribble urine slowly and allow it to spray onto the insides of their hind legs. All of these behaviors serve to advertise their musth state to receptive females and competing males. Females go through four stages of estrous behavior. The first stage is wariness, the next stage is the estrous walk, where the female leaves her group, walking away with her head held high and turned to the side watching the male follow her from behind. The third stage is the chase. The fourth and final stage of estrous behavior is consortship. A male and female elephant interact physically during this stage. The male wards off any other males as the female gets closer to her partner.

Mating System: polygynous ; cooperative breeder

Because African forest elephants are a recently recognized species, there is little specific information available on their reproduction. Information reported here is for the previously recognized inclusive species - African elephants. Younger males go into musth during the dry season, but older males go into musth during the wet season, when more females go into estrous. Estrous lasts for about 2 days and occurs approximately every 15 weeks. Gestation lasts 20 to 22 months, after which a single young is born, although twins occur rarely. Females nurse their young for up to 6.5 years, although young begin to include vegetation in their diet in their first year of life. Male young may nurse more than female young and allosuckling occasionally occurs - where other female members of the group nurse another female's young. Age at sexual maturity varies with climate, habitat, and diet. Wild female elephants usually reach sexual maturity between 11 and 14 years old (range 9 to 22 years). Males also reach sexual maturity at 11 to 14 years, although males typically do not successfully reproduce until they are older, more experienced, and larger.

Breeding interval: Females breed every 4 to 9 years.

Breeding season: Mating may occur throughout the year, but may be more concentrated in the wet season.

Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.

Average number of offspring: 1.

Range gestation period: 22 to 24 months.

Range weaning age: 36 to 78 months.

Average time to independence: 13 years.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 11 to 14 years.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 8 to 15 years.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous

Females in African forest elephant groups all contribute to the care of young. Mothers nurse and care for their young for extended periods of time, from birth to about 8 years old. Very young calves stay within about 5 meters of their mother at all times. When a calf is born, it can stand on its own shortly after birth. Calves are nursed exclusively for 3 months and weaned at 78 months old. Calves spend many years learning to navigate their complex environments and find food.

Parental Investment: precocial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); post-independence association with parents; extended period of juvenile learning

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Connor, T. 2009. "Loxodonta cyclotis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_cyclotis.html
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Tara Connor, Radford University
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Karen Francl, Radford University
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Biology

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The more elusive forest elephant has not been studied as extensively as the savanna species but some striking differences in social organisation and behaviour are already apparent. These elephants occur in small groups of around 5 - 8 individuals (8), which sometimes come together to form larger 'bond groups' (9). Congregations also occur in swampy forest clearings known as 'bais' (9), where forest elephants usually go looking for minerals (10). Nevertheless, neither of these are anywhere near the size of herds recorded on the African plains (9). Like savanna elephants, however, sound is an important method of communication and forest elephants use low frequency infrasound rumblings that are below the range of human hearing (11). Elephants feed by plucking at grasses and leaves with their trunks, and the diet of the forest elephant is dependent on season (9). During the dry season, they mainly browse on grasses and leaves but in the wet, fruit is preferentially eaten (9). These elephants have a number of highly specialised relationships with forest plant species and there are a number of hard-shelled fruits such as those of the Makore tree that can only be opened and broken down by elephants (8); some fruits are broken by the dextrous use of tusks to pierce the hard outer coat.
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Conservation

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A ban on the international trade in elephant products including ivory was implemented in 1990, when the African elephant was added to Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (3). The logistics of policing ivory poaching in the rainforest, however, are difficult to tackle (13). Beyond the controversy surrounding the taxonomic status of African elephants, there is a clear need for strategies aimed specifically at the forest elephant, to deal with unique factors brought about by its different habitat and largely unknown population sizes (13). To this end, the African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) has facilitated the development of a regional strategy for the conservation of elephants in Central Africa (14). This is an encouraging step in helping to secure the future of this elusive and largely forgotten elephant.
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Description

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These forest-dwelling elephants are smaller and darker than their savanna relatives and have smaller and characteristically rounded ears (2). The upper lip and nose are elongated into a trunk that is more hairy than that of the savanna elephants' (6). The trunk serves multiple functions, from acting as a dextrous 5th limb to a sound producer and amplifier, and an important method of touch between individuals (7). The trunk of the African species ends in two opposing processes (or lips), which differs from that of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), whose trunk ends in a single process (6). The other characteristic elephant feature, the modified upper incisors known as tusks, are generally almost straight and downwardly pointing in the forest elephant, rather than curving forward as they are in the savannah species (2). They are also a more yellow or brownish colour (6); these strong tusks are used to push through the dense undergrowth of their habitat (8). Bull elephants (mature males) are sometimes known to have exceptionally long tusks that reach almost to the ground (2).
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Habitat

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Mainly inhabits lowland tropical rainforest (2).
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Range

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The forest elephant is confined to the dense forests of west and central equatorial Africa, particularly in the Congo basin (8).
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Status

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Classified as Vulnerable (VU A2a) on the IUCN Red List 2004 (1), listed on Appendix II of CITES (3) and Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or Bonn Convention) (4). The forest elephant is listed under these as a subspecies of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana). Although preliminary genetic evidence published in 2001 suggests that the African elephant may constitute two distinct species, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) (1), many conservationists believe there is as yet insufficient evidence to justify this distinction (5), and that premature allocation into more than one species may leave hybrids in an uncertain conservation status (1). For this reason, the Red List assessment is for the single species, encompassing both forest and savanna populations (1). As such, the Red List status for the forest elephant as a separate species is unknown.
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Threats

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Logging in the Central African forest is one of the major threats facing the African forest elephant (8). Although selective logging, the more prevalent form of wood extraction in Central Africa, may actually benefit forest elephants by creating more of their preferred habitat – secondary forest - the construction of roads often associated with logging operations may have a detrimental effect by making these elephants more accessible to poachers and the bushmeat and ivory trade (8). The tusks of this species are more highly prized than that of either the Asian (Elephas maximus) or savanna elephant, as the ivory is harder whilst retaining its elastic properties (9). Other threats include habitat loss through the conversion of land to agriculture and increasing competition for resources with growing human populations (12).
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African forest elephant

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The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is one of the two living African elephant species. It is native to humid forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a shoulder height of 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in). Both sexes have straight, down-pointing tusks, which erupt when they are 1–3 years old. It lives in family groups of up to 20 individuals. Since it forages on leaves, seeds, fruit, and tree bark, it has been referred to as the 'megagardener of the forest'. It contributes significantly to maintain the composition and structure of the Guinean Forests of West Africa and the Congolese rainforests.

The first scientific description of the species was published in 1900. During the 20th century, overhunting caused a sharp decline in population, and by 2013 it was estimated that less than 30,000 individuals remained. It is threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, and poaching. The conservation status of populations varies across range countries. Since 2021, the species has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.[2]

Taxonomy

Loxodonte was proposed as the generic name for African elephants by Frédéric Cuvier in 1825. This name refers to the lozenge-shaped enamel of the molar teeth, which differs significantly from the shape of the Asian elephant's molar enamel.[3] Loxodonte was latinized to Loxodonta by an anonymous author in 1827.[4]

Elephas (Loxodonta) cyclotis was the scientific name proposed by Paul Matschie in 1900 who described the skulls of a female and a male specimen collected by the Sanaga River in southern Cameroon.[5]

Phylogeny

The African forest elephant was long considered to be a subspecies of the African elephant, together with the African bush elephant. Morphological and DNA analysis showed that they are two distinct species.[6][7]

The taxonomic status of the African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio) was uncertain for a long time. Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial genome of nine specimens from museum collections indicates that it is an African forest elephant whose diminutive size or early maturity is due to environmental conditions.[8]

Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear DNA of African bush and forest elephants, Asian elephants, woolly mammoths and American mastodons revealed that the African forest elephant and African bush elephant form a sister group that genetically diverged at least 1.9 million years ago. They are therefore considered distinct species. Gene flow between the two species might have occurred after the split, though.[9] DNA from the European straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) indicates that members of the extinct elephant genus Palaeoloxodon interbred with African forest elephants, with around 30% of the nuclear genome as well as the mitochondrial genome of the straight-tusked elephant deriving from that of African forest elephants.[10]

Description

Skulls of African bush elephant (left) and African forest elephant (right)

Bulls of the species reach a shoulder height of 2.4–3.0 m (7 ft 10 in – 9 ft 10 in). Females are smaller at about 1.8–2.4 m (5 ft 11 in – 7 ft 10 in) tall at the shoulder. Males weigh 4,000–7,000 kg (8,800–15,400 lb), while females only 2,000–4,000 kg (4,400–8,800 lb).[6] Foot print size ranges from 12.5 to 35.3 cm (4.9 to 13.9 in).[11]

The African forest elephant has grey skin, which looks yellow to reddish after wallowing. It is sparsely covered with black coarse hair, which is 20–200 mm (0.8–8 in) long around the tip of the tail. The length of the tail varies between individuals from half the height of the rump to almost touching ground. It has five toenails on the fore foot and four on the hind foot.[12] Its back is nearly straight.[6] Its oval-shaped ears have small elliptical-shaped tips.[5] and the tip of the trunk has two finger-like processes.[13]

The African forest elephant's tusks are straight and point downwards.[6], and are present in both males and females.[13] The African forest elephant has pink tusks, which are thinner and harder than the tusks of the African bush elephant. The length and diameter vary between individuals.[12] Tusks of bulls grow throughout life, tusks of cows cease growing when they are sexually mature.[6] The tusks are used to push through the dense undergrowth of their habitat.[14] Their tusks can grow to about 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) long and can weigh between 23 and 45 kg (50 and 100 lb).[15]

Distribution and habitat

A family of African forest elephants in the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve wetlands, Central African Republic

Populations of the African forest elephant in Central Africa range in large contiguous rainforest tracts from Cameroon to the Democratic Republic of the Congo,[16][17][18] with the largest stable population in Gabon.[19] where suitable habitat covers 90% of the country.[20]

However, it is estimated that the population of African forest elephants in central Africa declined by around 86% in the 31 years preceding 2021 owing to poaching and loss of habitat. In addition, Cameroon, Congo and the Central African Republic have suffered from high levels of conflict.[20] The first survey in 30 years in 2021, by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the National Parks of Gabon, reported an estimated 95,000 forest elephants in Gabon. Prior to this the population had been estimated at 50,000 to 60,000 individuals.[20]

They are also distributed in the evergreen moist deciduous Upper Guinean forests in Ivory Coast and Ghana, in West Africa.[21][22][23]

Behaviour and ecology

African forest elephants in a waterhole
Group of African forest elephants digging at a mineral lick
A female with her calf drinking from a spring

The African forest elephant lives in family groups. Groups observed in the rain forest of Gabon's Lopé National Park between 1984 and 1991 comprised between three and eight individuals.[24] Groups of up to 20 individuals were observed in the Dzanga-Sangha Complex of Protected Areas, comprising adult cows, their daughters and subadult sons. Family members look after calves together, called allomothering. Once young bulls reach sexual maturity, they separate from the family group and form loose bachelor groups for a few days, but usually stay alone. Adult bulls associate with family groups only during the mating season. Family groups travel about 7.8 km (4.8 mi) per day and move in a home range of up to 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi).[12] Their seasonal movement is related to the availability of ripe fruits in Primary Rainforests.[25] They use a complex network of permanent trails that pass through stands of fruit trees and connect forest clearings with mineral licks.[26] These trails are reused by humans and other animals.[27]

In Odzala-Kokoua National Park, groups were observed to frequently meet at forest clearings indicating a fission–fusion society. They stayed longer when other groups were also present. Smaller groups joined large groups, and bulls joined family units.[28]

Diet

The African forest elephant feeds on bark, leaves, and fruit

The African forest elephant is an herbivore. Elephants observed in Lopé National Park fed mostly tree bark and leaves, and at least 72 different fruits.[24] To supplement their diet with minerals, they congregate at mineral-rich waterholes and mineral licks.[29][30]

Elephant dung piles collected in Kahuzi-Biéga National Park contained seeds and fruit remains of Omphalocarpum mortehanii, junglesop (Anonidium mannii), Antrocaryon nannanii, Klainedoxa gabonensis, Treculia africana, Tetrapleura tetraptera, Uapaca guineensis, Autranella congolensis, Gambeya africana and G. lacourtiana, Mammea africana, Cissus dinklagei, and Grewia midlbrandii.[31] Dung piles collected in a lowland rain forest in the northern Republic of Congo contained seeds of at least 96 plant species, with a minimum of 30 intact seeds and up to 1102 large seeds of more than 1 cm (0.39 in) in a single pile. Based on the analysis of 855 dung piles, it has been estimated that African forest elephants disperse a daily mean of 346 large seeds per 1 km2 (0.39 sq mi) of at least 73 tree species; they transport about a third of the large seeds for more than 5 km (3.1 mi).[32]

Seeds passed by elephant gut germinate faster. The African forest elephant is one of the most effective seed dispersers in the tropics and has been referred to as the "megagardener of the forest" due to its significant role in maintaining plant diversity.[33] In the Cuvette Centrale, 14 of 18 megafaunal tree species depend on seed dissemination by African forest elephants, including wild mango (Irvingia gabonensis), Parinari excelsa and Tridesmostemon omphalocarpoides. These 14 species are not able to survive without elephants.[34] African forest elephants provide ecological services that maintain the composition and structure of Central African forests.[35]

Communication

Since this species is newly recognized, little to no literature is available on communication and perception. For these mammals, hearing and smell are the most important senses they possess because they do not have good eyesight. They can recognize and hear vibrations through the ground and can detect food sources with their sense of smell. Elephants are also an arrhythmic species, meaning they have the ability to see just as well in dim light as they can in the daylight. They are capable of doing so because the retina in their eyes adjusts nearly as quickly as light does.[36][37]

The elephant's feet are sensitive and can detect vibrations through the ground, whether thunder or elephant calls, from up to 10 miles away.[38]

Reproduction

Females reach sexual maturity between the age of 8 and 12 years, depending on the population density and nutrition available. On average, they begin breeding at the age of 23 and give birth every 5–6 years. As a result, the birth rate is lower than the bush species, which starts breeding at age 12 and has a calf every 3–4 years.[39]

Baby elephants weigh around 105 kg (232 lb) at birth. Almost immediately, they can stand up and move around, allowing the mother to roam around and forage, which is also essential to reduce predation. The baby suckles using its mouth while its trunk is held over its head. Their tusks do not come until around 16 months and calves are not weaned until they are roughly 4 or 5 years old. By this time, their tusks are around 14 cm (5.5 in) long and begin to get in the way of suckling.[40]

Forest elephants have a lifespan of about 60 to 70 years and mature slowly, coming to puberty in their early teens.[41] Bulls generally pass puberty within the next year or two of females. Between the ages of 15 and 25, bulls experience "musth", which is a hormonal state they experience marked by increased aggression. The male secretes fluid from the temporal gland between his ear and eye during this time. Younger bulls often experience musth for a shorter period of time, while older bulls do for a longer time. When in musth, bulls have a more erect walk with their head high and tusks inward, they may rub their heads on trees or bushes to spread the musth scent, and they may even flap their ears, accompanied by a musth rumble, so that their smell can be blown toward other elephants. Another behavior affiliated with musth is urination. Bulls allow their urine to slowly come out and spray the insides of their hind legs. All of these behaviors are to advertise to receptive females and competing bulls that they are in the musth state. Bulls only return to the herd to breed or to socialize; they do not provide prenatal care to their offspring but rather play a fatherly role to younger bulls to show dominance.[42]

Females are polyestrous, meaning they are capable of conceiving multiple times a year, which is a reason why they do not appear to have a breeding season. However, there does appear to be a peak in conceptions during the two rainy seasons of the year. Generally, the female conceives after two or three matings. Though the female has plenty of room in her uterus for twins, twins are rarely conceived. Gestation lasts 22 months. Based on the maturity, fertility, and gestation rates, African forest elephants have the capacity to increase their population by 5% annually under ideal conditions.[43]

Threats

Both African elephant species are threatened foremost by habitat loss and habitat fragmentation following conversion of forests for plantations of non-timber crops, livestock farming, and building urban and industrial areas. As a result, human-elephant conflict has increased. Poaching for ivory and bushmeat is a significant threat in Central Africa.[2] Because of a spike in poaching, the African forest elephant was declared Critically Endangered by the IUCN in 2021 after it was found that the population had decreased by more than 80% over 3 generations.

Civil unrest, human encroachment, and habit fragmentation leaves some elephants confined to small patches of forest without sufficient food. In January 2014, International Fund for Animal Welfare undertook a relocation project at the request of the Ivory Coast government, moving four elephants from Daloa to Assagny National Park.[44]

Poaching

Tridom is a hotspot for poaching of African forest elephants

Genetic analysis of confiscated ivory showed that 328 tusks of African forest elephants seized in the Philippines between 1996 and 2005 originated in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo; 2,871 tusks seized in Hong Kong between 2006 and 2013 originated in Tridom, the tri-national Dja-Odzala-Minkébé protected area complex and the adjacent Dzanga Sangha Reserve in the Central African Republic. So did partly worked ivory confiscated between 2013 and 2014 at warehouses in Togo comprising 4,555 kg (10,042 lb) of tusks.[45] The hard ivory of the African forest elephant makes for more enhanced carving and fetches a higher price on the black market. This preference is evident in Japan, where hard ivory has nearly monopolized the trade for some time. Premium quality bachi, a traditional Japanese plucking tool used for string instruments, is contrived exclusively from African forest elephant tusks. In the impenetrable and often trackless expanses of the rain forests of the Congo Basin, poaching is extremely difficult to detect and track. Levels of off-take, for the most part, are estimated from ivory seizures. The scarcely populated and unprotected forests in Central Africa are most likely becoming increasingly alluring to organized poacher gangs.[46]

Late in the 20th century, conservation workers established a DNA identification system to trace the origin of poached ivory. Due to poaching to meet high demand for ivory, the African forest elephant population approached critical levels in the 1990s and early 2000s.[47][48] Over several decades, numbers are estimated to have fallen from approximately 700,000 to less than 100,000, with about half of the remaining population in Gabon.[49] In May 2013, Sudanese poachers killed 26 elephants in the Central African Republic's Dzanga Bai World Heritage Site.[50][51] Communications equipment, video cameras, and additional training of park guards were provided following the massacre to improve protection of the site.[52] From mid-April to mid-June 2014, poachers killed 68 elephants in Garamba National Park, including young ones without tusks.[53]

At the request of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, twelve British soldiers traveled to Gabon in 2015 to assist in training park rangers following the poaching of many elephants in Minkebe National Park.[54]

Bushmeat trade

It is not ivory alone that drives African forest elephant poaching. Killing for bushmeat in Central Africa has evolved into an international business in recent decades with markets reaching New York and other major cities of the United States, and the industry is still on the rise. This illegal market poses the greatest threat not only to forest elephants where hunters can target elephants of all ages, including calves, but to all of the larger species in the forests. There are actions that can be taken to lower the incentive for supplying to the bushmeat market. Regional markets, and international trade, require the transporting of extensive amounts of animal meat which, in turn, requires the utilisation of vehicles. Having checkpoints on major roads and railroads can potentially help disrupt commercial networks.[46] In 2006, it was estimated that 410 African forest elephants are killed yearly in the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests.[55]

Conservation

In 1986, the African Elephant Database was initiated with the aim to monitor the status of African elephant populations. This database includes results from aerial surveys, dung counts, interviews with local people, and data on poaching.[56]

Both African elephant species have been listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora on CITES Appendix I since 1989. This listing banned commercial international trade of wild African elephants and their parts and derivatives by countries that signed the CITES agreement. Populations of Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe were listed in CITES Appendix II in 1997 as was the population of South Africa in 2000.[2] Hunting elephants is banned in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal.[57]

African forest elephants are estimated to constitute up to one-third of the continent's elephant population but have been poorly studied because of the difficulty in observing them through the dense vegetation that makes up their habitat.[58] Thermal imaging has facilitated observation of the species, leading to more information on their ecology, numbers, and behavior, including their interactions with elephants and other species. Scientists have learned more about how the elephants, who have poor night vision, negotiate their environment using only their hearing and olfactory senses. They also appeared to be much more active sexually during the night compared to the day, which was unexpected.[43]

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African forest elephant: Brief Summary

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The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is one of the two living African elephant species. It is native to humid forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a shoulder height of 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in). Both sexes have straight, down-pointing tusks, which erupt when they are 1–3 years old. It lives in family groups of up to 20 individuals. Since it forages on leaves, seeds, fruit, and tree bark, it has been referred to as the 'megagardener of the forest'. It contributes significantly to maintain the composition and structure of the Guinean Forests of West Africa and the Congolese rainforests.

The first scientific description of the species was published in 1900. During the 20th century, overhunting caused a sharp decline in population, and by 2013 it was estimated that less than 30,000 individuals remained. It is threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, and poaching. The conservation status of populations varies across range countries. Since 2021, the species has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

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