African Forest Elephant
CR

African Forest Elephant

Loxodonta cyclotis

Declining

Photo: Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Overview

The African forest elephant 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, it is the smallest of the three extant elephant species. Both sexes have straight, down-pointing tusks, which begin to grow at the age of 1–3 years.

African forest elephants face catastrophic population declines primarily due to intensive poaching for ivory, which has reduced their numbers by over 80% in the past decade. Habitat fragmentation from logging, agricultural expansion, and infrastructure development has isolated remaining populations and reduced available forest corridors. Mining operations and human settlements continue to encroach on their remaining forest habitat, while civil unrest in parts of their range has hampered conservation efforts.

Threat summary

Habitat

African forest elephants inhabit dense tropical rainforests across Central and West Africa, including both primary and secondary forest ecosystems. They require large territories with forest corridors connecting feeding areas, and play a crucial role as seed dispersers in maintaining forest biodiversity.

Forest· majorSavanna· majorGrassland· majorWetlands (inland) - Bogs, marshes, swamps, fens· majorDesert· major

Conservation measures underway

Site/area managementSpecies managementLegislationPolicies and regulationsCompliance and enforcement

Other threatened species in ELEPHANTIDAE

Asian ElephantEN

Asian Elephant

Elephas maximus

Declining
African Savanna ElephantEN

African Savanna Elephant

Loxodonta africana

Declining

Threatened in Angola

Angolan AdderVU

Angolan Adder

Bitis heraldica

Declining
Cape GannetEN

Cape Gannet

Morus capensis

Declining
Zebra DuikerVU

Zebra Duiker

Cephalophus zebra

Declining
Slaty EgretVU

Slaty Egret

Egretta vinaceigula

Declining

Frequently asked questions

Why is African Forest Elephant classified as Critically Endangered?
African Forest Elephant is classified as Critically Endangered — facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild — because population sizes are very small, declining sharply, or restricted to a tiny range. African forest elephants face catastrophic population declines primarily due to intensive poaching for ivory, which has reduced their numbers by over 80% in the past decade. Habitat fragmentation from logging, agricultural expansion, and infrastructure development has isolated remaining populations and reduced available forest corridors. Mining operations and human settlements continue to encroach on their remaining forest habitat, while civil unrest in parts of their range has hampered conservation efforts.
Where does African Forest Elephant live?
African Forest Elephant occurs in Angola, Gambia, Senegal, South Sudan, and Sudan. Country-level distribution data is sourced from the IUCN Red List and cross-referenced with GBIF occurrences.
What are the main threats to African Forest Elephant?
The main threats to African Forest Elephant are 2.1, 4.1, 5.1, and ai-1. The full IUCN-classified threat record for this species is detailed on the species page.

Get weekly conservation intelligence

One short digest a week of the most striking species and country data we ship, plus breaking conservation news paired with our database where it matters.

Free, no spam. One-click unsubscribe in every email.