Elephants — Africa & The Middle East

"African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. They are slightly larger than their Asian cousins and can be identified by their larger ears . . . Although they were long grouped together as one species, scientists have determined that there are actually two species of African elephants—and that both are at risk of extinction. Savanna elephants are larger animals that roam the plains of sub-Saharan Africa, while forest elephants are smaller animals that live in the forests of Central and West Africa . . . African elephants are keystone species, meaning they play a critical role in their ecosystem. Also known as “ecosystem engineers,” elephants shape their habitat in many ways. During the dry season, they use their tusks to dig up dry riverbeds and create watering holes many animals can drink from. Their dung is full of seeds, helping plants spread across the environment—and it makes pretty good habitat for dung beetles too. In the forest, their feasting on trees and shrubs creates pathways for smaller animals to move through, and in the savanna, they uproot trees and eat saplings, which helps keep the landscape open for zebras and other plains animals to thrive . . . Poaching for the illegal ivory trade is the biggest threat to African elephants’ survival. Before the Europeans began colonizing Africa, there may have been as many as 26 million elephants. By the early 20th century, their numbers had dropped to 10 million. Hunting continued to increase. By 1970, their numbers were down to 1.3 million. Between 1970 and 1990, hunting and poaching put the African elephant at risk of extinction, reducing its population by another half. In the years since, poaching has continued to threaten both species: Savanna elephants declined by 30 percent between 2007 and 2014, while forest elephants declined by 64 percent from 2002 to 2011 as poaching worsened in Central and West Africa. In 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature recognized them as separate species for the first time, listing savanna elephants as endangered and forest elephants as critically endangered. As few as 400,000 remain today."

"African elephant," National Geographic.