Forest elephant  (Loxodonta cyclotis)

Classified as Vulnerable (VU A2a) on the IUCN Red List 2004 (1), listed on Appendix II of CITES (3) and Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or Bonn Convention) (4). The forest elephant is listed under these as a subspecies of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana). Although preliminary genetic evidence published in 2001 suggests that the African elephant may constitute two distinct species, namely the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) (1), many conservationists believe there is as yet insufficient evidence to justify this distinction (5), and that premature allocation into more than one species may leave hybrids in an uncertain conservation status (1). For this reason, the Red List assessment is for the single species, encompassing both forest and savanna populations (1). As such, the Red List status for the forest elephant as a separate species is unknown.