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Happy EleFACT Friday! We’ve explored the differences between Asian and African elephants before, but today we’ll be diving in a little deeper on what makes African elephants so unique.
There are actually two different species of African elephants: The African bush elephant, also known as the African savanna elephant, and African forest elephant. Both live in sub-Saharan Africa in the wild, but there are some differences. Forest elephants are smaller and have more oval-shaped ears. Their tusks are straighter and point more downward, where the bush elephants curve outwards. Bush elephants are found in the savanna and woodland areas of Africa, and forest elephants are found in, of course, the forest. Bush elephants typically graze on grass, while forest elephants consume more leaves and fruit.
Forest elephants live in smaller social groups, typically made up of 2 to 4 individuals, compared to the larger herds of bush elephants, which can have up to 14 members. Forest elephants communicate with lower frequency calls, around 5 hertz compared to the 14-24 hertz of the bush elephants.
It can be challenging to analyze and keep records of forest elephants because the dense forests where they live make aerial surveys that researchers use to track them more difficult. Forest elephants can, however, be estimated and tracked through “dung counts,” by analyzing the density and distribution of feces on the forest floor.
The African elephants that we are preparing to bring to sanctuary, Kenya and Pupy, are bush elephants, as are the majority of African elephants in captivity. When we designed our African female habitat, we took into account the need to provide a landscape that closely resembles what they would know and be used to in the wild.
P.S.: Kenya and Pupy are closer to their new home than ever. Each day brings more progress and we are excited about what’s to come. You have the opportunity to help give them the Gift of a Lifetime by donating to their rescues. Help us prepare the way for Pupy and Kenya by donating today.
Photo of Pupy in her enclosure at Buenos Aires
Comment(1)-
Sir Richard of the Elephants says
December 20, 2024 at 3:05 pmThere used to be forest elephants in the Bronx Zoo, years ago, Congo, the 2nd elephant in that zoo was a forest elephant. They called him a pigmy elephant, Loxodonta pumilio, at the time. However, that has been changed to Loxodonta cyclotis, like all forest elephants. Congo, received in 1905, and the next forest elephant brought to the Bronx Zoo, Tiny, 1920, were both considered Pigmies, but were, in fact, forest elephants. The next forest elephants brought to the Bronx Zoo were Zangelima, a male and Doruma, a female. They came along with a bush elephant, Bamangwa, in 1946. Zangelima met the fate of most bull elephants in zoos. He was shot to death in 1952 and Doruma (also called Pinky) died in 1970. I don’t know of any forest elephants in the United States at present.
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