African forest elephant

The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is an elephant species native to humid tropical forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It was first described in 1900. With an average shoulder height of 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in), it is the smallest of the three living elephants. Both sexes have straight, down-pointing tusks, which begin to grow at the age of 1–3 years. The African forest elephant lives in highly sociable family groups of up to 20 individuals comprising adult cows, their daughters and sons. When young bulls reach sexual maturity, they separate from the family group and form loose bachelor groups for a short time, but usually stay alone. Adult bulls associate with family grou...

Populations of the African forest elephant in Central Africa range in large contiguous rainforest tracts from Cameroon to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the largest stable population in Gabon, where suitable habitat covers 90% of the country. They are also distributed in the evergreen moist deciduous Upper Guinean forests in Ivory Coast and Ghana, in West Africa. A group of about 10-25 African forest elephants has been sighted on the escarpment to the east of Luanda in the Kambondo forest in 2015. Nonetheless, it was estimated that the population of African forest elephants in Central Africa had declined by around 86% (in the 31 years preceding 2021) due to poaching and loss of habitat. In places such as Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic, many areas of appropriate forest habitat have been reduced after years of warfare and human conflict. As of 2021, an estimated 95,000 forest elephants lived in Gabon. Prior to this the population had been estimated at 50,000 to 60,000 individuals.

Gabon

The African forest elephant is a herbivore. Elephants observed in Lopé National Park fed mostly tree bark and leaves, and at least 72 different fruits. To supplement their diet with minerals, they congregate at mineral-rich waterholes and mineral licks. 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. 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). Seeds passed by elephant gut germinate faster. The African forest elephant is one of the most effective seed disperser in the tropics and has been referred to as the "megagardener of the forest" due to its significant role in maintaining plant diversity. 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. African forest elephants provide ecological services that maintain the composition and structure of Central African forests.

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. 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). Their seasonal movement is related to the availability of ripe fruits in Primary Rainforests. They use a complex network of permanent trails that pass through stands of fruit trees and connect forest clearings with mineral licks. These trails are reused by humans and other animals. 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.

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. 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. African forest elephants have a lifespan of about 60 to 70 years and mature slowly, coming to puberty in their early teens. 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 parental care to their offspring but rather play a fatherly role to younger bulls to show dominance. 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.

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. The African forest elephant is considerably smaller than the African bush elephant, though the size of the species has been subject to contradictory estimates. A 2000 study suggested that bulls of the species reach a shoulder height of 2.4–3 m (7.9–9.8 ft), and weighed 4–7 t (4.4–7.7 short tons), while cows were about 1.8–2.4 m (5.9–7.9 ft) tall at the shoulder and 2–4 t (2.2–4.4 short tons). However, a 2003 study of forest elephants at a reserve in Gabon did not find any elephants taller than 2.16 m (7.1 ft). A 2015 study alternately suggested that fully grown African forest elephant males in optimal condition were only on average 2.2 m (7.2 ft) tall and 2 t (2.2 short tons) in weight, with the largest individuals (representing less than 1 in 100,000 as a proportion of the total population) no bigger than 2.75 m (9.0 ft) tall and 3.5 t (3.9 short tons) in weight. 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. Its back is nearly straight. Its oval-shaped ears have small elliptical-shaped tips, and the tip of the trunk has two finger-like processes. The African forest elephant's tusks are straight and point downwards, and are present in both males and females. 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. Tusks of bulls grow throughout life, tusks of cows cease growing when they are sexually mature. The tusks are used to push through the dense undergrowth of their habitat. The largest tusk recorded for the species is 2.41 m (7.9 ft) long and 60 kg (130 lb) in weight. A larger tusk measuring 2.96 m (9.7 ft) long and weighing 70 kg (150 lb) has been recorded, but this may belong to a forest-bush elephant hybrid. The average tusk size is uncertain due to measurements historically being lumped in with those of African bush elephants, but based on the sizes of the largest known tusks may be in the region of 1.6–2 m (5.2–6.6 ft) and 25–30 kg (55–66 lb).

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. 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.

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. 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. Hunting elephants is banned in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal. 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. 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. Research in the tropical rainforest has shown that African forest elephants can significantly increase the forest's carbon uptake, making conservation a way to contribute to carbon storage.

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.