Forest Elephant
Forest elephants are an elusive subspecies of African
Forest Elephant
Forest elephants are an elusive subspecies of African elephants and inhabit the densely wooded 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.
Forest elephants are smaller than savanna elephants, the other African elephant subspecies.
Their ears are more oval-shaped ears 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.
Source: WWF
the African forest elephant
Forest Elephant
You may have been taught that there are only two species of elephants: the African elephant and the Asian elephant.
In 2000, scientists recategorized the African elephant species into two distinct species,
the larger being the African savanna elephant and the smaller being the African forest elephant.
Source: Britannica Elephants
