African Elephants (Loxodonta africana and L. cyclotis) Fact Sheet: Distribution & Habitat

Current distribution

• Species combined: occur across about 3 million km² (Thouless et al. 2016)
  • See Historic distribution
• Savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and forest elephant (L. cyclotis) generally do not occur in the same range (Ishida, Oleksyk, et al. 2011; Ishida, Demeke, et al. 2011; Nowak 2018)
  • Some overlap in forested areas of Central Africa
• Savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) (Thouless et al. 2016; Gobush et al. 2022)
  • East, Central, and southern Africa
    • Distribution patchy and fragmented (Poole et al. 2013; Huang et al. 2024)
    • Largest range areas and populations in southern Africa (Blanc et al. 2007; Riddle et al. 2010)
    • Most severe range loss in West Africa (Roth and Douglas-Hamilton 1991; Poole et al. 2013)
      • Unique desert population in Mali (Canney 2019)
    • Occurs near forest elephant in some parts of Central Africa (eg, Chad, northern Cameroon, northern Central African Republic) (Turkalo and Barnes 2013)
  • Reintroduced range areas
    • Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) (Gobush et al. 2022)
  • Some recent range expansion in countries like Angola and Mozambique (after the end of civil wars) (Ntumi et al. 2009; Chase and Griffin 2011; Roque et al. 2022), and Botswana Kenya (eg, Blanc et al. 2007; Thouless et al. 2016; Gobush et al. 2022)
• Forest elephant (L. cyclotis)
  • Congo basin and West Africa (Gobush et al. 2021)
  • Small, fragmented populations (Roth and Douglas-Hamilton 1991; Thouless et al. 2016)
  • Range continues to shrink (Gobush et al. 2021)
    • Mainly found in ~6 Central African countries (Gobush et al. 2021)
    • Highly fragmented distribution in western Africa; live in only several dozen small, isolated forest fragments (Turkalo and Barnes 2013; Gobush et al. 2021)

Elevation range

• Savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana)
  • Near sea level to over 5,000 m (16,000 ft) (Grimshaw et al. 1995; Nowak 2018)
• Forest elephant (L. cyclotis)
  • Near sea level to 2,000 m (about 7,000 ft) (Gobush et al. 2021)

Historic distribution

• Species combined
  • Occupy as little as 15% of their historic range, mainly due to poaching and habitat loss (eg, from widespread agriculture and land development) (Poole et al. 2013; Chase et al. 2016)
  • Range still shrinking and increasingly fragmented (eg, Chase et al. 2016; Gobush et al. 2022)
• Savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana)
  • Today, only present south of the Sahara (Poole et al. 2013)
  • Once occurred throughout most of Africa (Sikes 1971; Riddle et al. 2010; Nowak 2018), including the Mediterranean coast of northern Africa (Poole et al. 2013 citing Bryden 1903 and Coulson 2001; Wall et al. 2021)
    • 3,000 to 4,000 years ago: range became more restricted with increasing land aridification and due to hunting in Egypt (Nowak 2018)
    • Range further reduced by more recent hunting, and expansion of human settlements and land use (eg, Riddle et al. 2010; Nowak 2018; Leimgruber and Songer 2021; Wall et al. 2021)
  • Other regional extinctions
    • Mauritania (Gobush et al. 2022)
    • Burundi (Gobush et al. 2022)
• Forest elephant (L. cyclotis)
  • Once occurred across the entire humid forest areas of western and central Africa (Gobush et al. 2021)
    • Assumed to have once ranged from the regions of Guinea, east to Democratic Republic of the Congo (Turkalo and Barnes 2013)
  • Estimated to occupy only 25% of its historic range (Maisels et al. 2013; Gobush et al. 2021)
    • Within West Africa, only a tiny fraction of its historic range (Roth and Douglas-Hamilton 1991)
  • Other regional extinctions
    • Gambia (Gobush et al. 2021)

Wide variety of habitats

• Savanna elephants (Lindsay 2011; Poole et al. 2013; Nowak 2018)
• Habitat types (eg, Sikes 1971; Loarie, van Aarde, et al. 2009; Gobush et al. 2022)
• All types of grasslands and woodlands
• Lowland rainforests and montane forests
• Thornbush and semi-desert scrub
• Wet marshes, swamps, flood plains
• Upland moors
• Some arid deserts (Namib, Mali-Sahel)
• Habitat preferences
• Commonly found close to areas with fresh water, abundant food, and some shade—particularly in drier regions or the dry seasons (Loarie, Aarde, et al. 2009; Roever et al. 2012; Orrick 2018; Bastille‐Rousseau et al. 2020; Abraham et al. 2021; Davis et al. 2023)
• Usually stay within 15 km (9 mi) of water (Loarie, Aarde, et al. 2009; Chamaillé‐Jammes et al. 2014; Wato et al. 2018)
• Extraordinary reports of some individuals ranging as far as 80 km (50 mi) from water (e.g., Roever et al. 2012 [Botswana])
• Generally, prefer habitat areas with greener plants (Loarie, van Aarde, et al. 2009; Orrick 2018) and higher diversity of large trees (White and Goodman 2010)
• Presumably able to find better food as the seasons change (Loarie, van Aarde, et al. 2009; Young et al. 2009)
• Artificial (human-made) water holes expand savanna elephant’s dry season range in some locations (Loarie, van Aarde, et al. 2009; Fullman and Child 2013; Purdon and van Aarde 2017)
• Prefer less fragmented habitat areas (Gara et al. 2017; Gara et al. 2021) and areas farther from human activity (eg, Laurance et al. 2006; Graham et al. 2009; Cushman et al. 2010; Wittemyer et al. 2017; Huang et al. 2022)
• But may seek water and food near human settlements (Cushman et al. 2010; Schlossberg et al. 2018)
• Some elephant populations adapt to live alongside humans and livestock (eg, Gaynor et al. 2018; Bastille‐Rousseau et al. 2020; Troup et al. 2020)
• Forest elephants
• Tropical rainforests of western and central Africa (Nowak 2018)
• Includes lowland areas of wet, dry, and montane forests (Gobush et al. 2021)
• Use more open savanna habitat near forests, and areas of mixed forest and savanna (Turkalo and Fay 1995; Turkalo and Barnes 2013; Mills et al. 2018; Nowak 2018; Cardoso et al. 2020)
• Found in high densities along forest edges, particularly during the dry season, while searching for fruit and browse (Cardoso et al. 2020)
• Aggregate in forest clearings (Turkalo and Fay 1995; Turkalo et al. 2013)
• Also aggregate near streams and swamps where large amounts of browse available (Nowak 2018; Blake and Maisels 2023)
• In some places, may use areas near water at night to avoid poachers and drink mineral-rich water (Turkalo and Fay 1995; Wrege et al. 2017; Blake and Maisels 2023)
• May spend time near human settlements and agricultural land, especially during the dry season and when preferred foods grow (Mills et al. 2018)
• Known to use areas safeguarded from poachers (such as protected areas with strong law enforcement) and even secured industrial sites, such as oil fields (see Kolowski et al. 2010; Blake and Maisels 2023)
• But tend to avoid areas with poachers, loggers, vehicle traffic, etc. (Blake et al. 2008; Stephan et al. 2020; Gobush et al. 2021; Blake and Maisels 2023)
• Occur in logged and unlogged forests (Clark et al. 2009; Poulsen et al. 2011; Scalbert et al. 2023)

African elephants live south of the Sahara and historically were abundant across much of Africa.

Adapted from www.d-maps.com according to IUCN fact sheets: African savanna elephant, African forest elephant.