African shoebill facts12/23/2023 The African bush elephant is the largest growing up to 4m in height and weighing 10 tons. African forest elephants are the smallest elephant speciesįrom the three living elephant species, the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant, the African forest elephant is the ‘smallest’. They were long considered a subspecies of the African bush elephant, but morphological and DNA analysis showed that they are two distinct species.Īfrican forest elephants are smaller, have more rounded ears and straighter, downward facing tusks. African forest elephants are a separate species from the bush elephant Interesting African Forest Elephant Facts 1. Subsequently, the African forest elephant was declared critically endangered by the IUCN in 2021. Sadly, their population has decreased by more than 80% over the past 3 generations due to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation amd poaching for ivory and bushmeat. When females are ready to mate they generally leave the group when they encounter a male. African forest elephants live in small herds of around 5 individuals who are often all female relatives. Males leave these herds when sexually mature and live a solitary existence. Herds are usually made up of a female matriarch, her siblings and their offspring. Most of their trails to water and food sources are permanent and these routes are passed down generation after generation. They are also fond of mud-baths which help protect them from the sun as well as biting forest insects. There, they use their long trunks to suck it up, filter out any sand and dirt and then swallow the fresh water. Like all elephants, African forest elephants love water and forest elephants in particular are not often found far from a water source. In order to do this, forest elephants will travel to a known spot and then dig up and eat the mineral rich soil. Like other elephants, they regularly visit salt-licks to increase their mineral intake. They eat up to 72 different types of fruit, as well as leaves and bark.įamily groups will travel up to 5 miles each day through the undergrowth to visit fruiting and seeding trees, using their excellent sense of smell and superb memory to locate these feeding grounds. Whereas bush elephants feed primarily on grasses and other foliage, fruits make up a large proportion of the diet of a forest elephant. The diet and behaviour of the African forest elephant is similar to other forest-dwelling animals and despite being less closely related, they share many similarities with the Asian elephant. They travel in smaller herds than bush elephants and hardly ever interact with other herds, rather sticking to their well-memorised routes through the dense undergrowth in search of food. Humans are their main threatĪfrican forest elephants very shy animals and are rarely seen due to their preference for thick, dark forest. Herbivorous feeding on many types of fruit, as well as leaves, seeds and grasses Smaller than the bush elephant with more rounded ears and thinner, straighter tusks Similar to the bush elephant but their hide is slightly darker. Up to 2.4m in height at the shoulder, length around 2m They are confined to dense, tropical rainforests which are slowly being reduced in size due to deforestation and climate change.Īfrican Forest Elephant Facts Overview Habitat: Forest elephants have smaller, more rounded ears and straighter, downward-facing tusks that allow them to move through the dense forest more easily.Īfrican forest elephants are only found in a few countries across central and western Africa. Unlike the more commonly known African bush elephant (also known as the African savanna elephant), the forest elephants in Africa rarely venture far from dense forest and are far shyer than their larger cousins.įorest elephants are much smaller than bush elephants with a height of up to 2.4m compared to the 3-4m metre height of the bush elephant. Once thought to be a subspecies of the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant is now recognised as a separate species.
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