African elephant  (Loxodonta africana)

One of the most emotive of the megafauna and the largest living terrestrial animal, African savanna elephants inspire awe at their sheer size; the largest recorded individual reached a massive 4 metres at the shoulder and weighed 10 tonnes (2). The thickset body rests on stocky legs and the back has a characteristically concave shape (2). African elephants have large ears to enable heat loss (5). Their upper lip and nose is elongated into a trunk that serves multiple functions, from a dextrous 5th limb to a sound producer and amplifier, and an important method of touch between individuals (2). The African elephant trunk ends in two opposing processes (or lips), which differs from that of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), whose trunk ends in a single process (6). A further characteristic feature are the elephant's tusks, which are large modified upper incisors that continue to grow throughout their lifetime; in both sexes of the African elephant these are curved forward (6).

The savanna elephant occurs largely in Eastern, Southern and West Africa (7), although populations are increasingly fragmented (8).

The savanna elephant is found in a wide variety of habitats, such as forests, mopane and miombo woodlands, Sahelian scrub, and even deserts (e.g. Namibia and Mali) (7).

Elephant society is highly complex and arranged around family units composed of groups of closely related females and their calves. Each family unit contains around 10 individuals (9), led by an old female known as the 'matriarch' (2). Family units often join up with other bands of females forming 'kinship groups' or ‘bond groups', and larger herds may number well over a hundred individuals (6). Male elephants leave their natal group at puberty and tend to form much more fluid alliances with other males. Elephants are extremely long-lived and although females may reach sexual maturity at 10 years old they are at their most fertile between 25 and 45 (2). There is no distinct breeding season, although birth peaks in certain areas may relate to the local rainfall patterns (10). Calves are born after an exceptionally long gestation period of nearly 2 years, and continue to be dependent on their mother for several years (2). They are also cared for by other females in the group, especially by young females known as 'allomothers' (2). The social bonds between elephants are very strong and if faced with danger they will form a protective circle around the young calves, with the adults facing outwards and the matriarch adopting a threatening pose or even charging the intruder (2). Elephants care for their wounded and also show recognition of, and particular interest in, elephant bones (11).

Elephant groups will spend the day wandering their home range in search of food and water (2). An adult elephant requires 160 kg of food a day; using their highly mobile trunk they pluck at grasses and leaves or tear at branches and bark with their tusks, which can cause enormous damage (6). Elephants can communicate over large distances and use some vocalisations that are below the range of human hearing (12).

Elephants have been hunted over the centuries for their tusks, which are traded as ivory (2). In the 1970s to 80s, an increased demand in ivory had a negative impact on elephant numbers across much of the species' range (13). Kenya was one of the worst affected countries (7), where the population plummeted by perhaps as much as 85% between 1973 and 1989 (13). Today, one of the major issues in elephant conservation is the conflict between elephants and a growing human population (2). Up to 80% of the elephant's range occurs outside of protected areas, where they frequently cause widespread damage to agriculture and water supplies (14). This conflict often results in injury or death for both people and elephants (10).

A ban on the international trade in elephant products including ivory was implemented in 1990, when the African elephant was added to Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (2), although the populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe have since been transferred to Appendix II (1). Indeed, sport hunting of elephants remains permitted under the legislation of a number of range states, and several countries currently have CITES export quotas for elephant trophies (1). Nevertheless, protection of the species has been high-profile in many countries, often involving armed guards, and the Kenyan Wildlife Service famously burnt a stockpile of tusks in protest against the ivory trade (6).

The African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) of the IUCN/SSC (Species Survival Commission) has also set up a Human Elephant Conflict Working Group (HECWG) to address the issues of conserving a species that has the ability to be detrimental to a human population (15). Beyond the controversy surrounding the taxonomic status of African elephants, the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) believes that different approaches are needed for the different problems facing the elephant in each country and region, and conservation strategies are therefore developed at the national or regional scales (16).

For more information on this species see:

IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group:
http://iucn.org/afesg/tools/

US Fish & Wildlife Service:
http://training.fws.gov/library/IA_Pubs/african_elephant_summ98-00.pdf

Elephant Information Repository:
http://elephant.elehost.com/

Macdonald, D. (2001) The New Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Authenticated (09/02/2006) by Julian Blanc, African Elephant Database Manager, IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group.
http://www.iucn.org/afesg/