Discover

Today
Animals
Explore
Archive
Search

Use it

Classroom
Resources
Field lab
Quiz
Saved

Trust

Methodology
Sources
Corrections
Accessibility
Contributors

Details

About
Contact
Privacy
Terms
Newsletter

Animal profile

African Forest Elephant

Loxodonta cyclotis

MammaliaDense tropical moist forest and forest clearings of Central and West AfricaCritically Endangered

Field profile

The African forest elephant is smaller and darker than its savanna relative, with straighter, downward-pointing tusks and rounder ears suited to closed forest. It was recognised as a distinct species by the IUCN in 2021 after genetic work showed a deep separation from the bush elephant. Its numbers fell sharply over recent decades, driven mainly by ivory poaching.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2024-06-30

African Forest Elephant

Africa has two elephant species, not one

For most of the twentieth century the forest elephant was treated as a subspecies. Genetic evidence now places the two African elephants as separate lineages, and in 2021 the IUCN assessed them apart for the first time.

Read with evidence →

African Forest Elephant | Daily Animal Facts