Wildlife
Forest Elephant

Elephants are the engineers of the forest: they create trails, spread seeds of high carbon-density trees, uproot and dig for minerals on which other species depend. Since 2021, a distinction has been made between the African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) and the African Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana). The former was immediately classified as Critically Endangered.

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CR

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

Rainforests would lose 6-9% of their carbon capture capacity without elephants 

Over 86% of forest emphants have disappeared over a 31-year period 

Only 150,000 forest elephants remain in the wild, 20% of them are in Congo

Loxodonta cyclotis

Local languages names: Nzoku (Lingala), Iya (Bendzele), Ngamba (Bomitaba) 

  • With an average height of 2.5 to 4 meters and weight of 3 to 6.6 tons., Forest Elephants are smaller than Savanna Elephants, but bigger than Asian elephants. They have a slower reproductive rate than Savanna Elephants, which means that it takes longer for their population to bounce back after periods of decline. 
  • The Forest Elephant is native to the tropical rainforests of West Africa and the Congo Basin. Their migrations vary considerably depending on environmental conditions, and can cover up to several hundred kilometres.
  • Forest Elephants communicate with each other using a complex combination of vocalizations, body language, and infrasound. They live in small family units of up to five individuals. Males tend to be solitary.
CHALLENGES

 

  • The main threat to elephants is poaching for ivory. Despite the regulations adopted and the progress made to protect elephants, between 2007 and 2016 alone, some 100,000 of them were poached across the continent. 
  • Habitat loss due to logging
  • Human-elephant conflicts over crops
  • Low resilience to demographic shocks
OUR APPROACH

 

  • Protecting elephants: we support a full-chain law enforcement program, including intelligence-led anti-poaching, anti-trafficking, and legal follow up efforts, to dismantle trafficking networks and improve governance.
  • Raising awareness: environmental education and awareness of wildlife protection laws are effective deterrents to poaching, raising awareness of the risk to poachers and ecosystems.
  • Monitoring and studying elephants: regular, extensive inventories and continuous study sites allow to gather precise data to better inform policy.
  • Reducing habitat loss: we work with national governments and forestry companies to improve land-use planning.
  • Resolving human-elephant conflicts: providing context-specific solutions to crop-related conflicts (electric fencing, beekeeping, chilli cultivation, etc.).

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