Elephants in Africa

In Africa there are two types of subspecies of elephants.  There are the Savanna and the Forest elephants.  The savanna elephants are larger and their tusks curve outward.  Not only are forest elephants smaller, but they are also darker and their tusks are straight and point downward.  When you dig even further into the animal, you would find differences in their skeleton and the size and shape of their skull. 

Forest elephants like you can guess are found in the forest of the Congo Basin.  However, their population is rapidly declining in number because of poaching for the international ivory trade.  Hunters with to harvest their tusks and sell them for a profit.  They estimate that about one third to one quarter of total elephants in Africa are forest elephants. 

Elephants are more than just magnificent animals that wander around.  They also help maintain suitable habitats for quite a few other species.  In central African forests, up to thirty percent of tree species require elephants to help with dispersal and germination. 

At one point, the population of African elephants was between three and five million, however that number came down significantly.  Because of hunting and natural causes, in the 1980s, an estimated 100,000 elephants were killed every year and as many as 80% of herds were lost in some regions.  In the recent years, as the demand for ivory, especially in Asia has increased, the desire for elephant tusks has also increased.  In southern and eastern Africa, elephant populations that once showed signs of recovering are at risk because of this recent surge in poaching for illegal ivory trade.