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, below
• 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)
  • Most (about 95%) in Central Africa and only about 5% in West Africa (Gobush et al. 2021; CITES SC78 65.1, p. 32)
  • 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 savanna elephants live south of the Sahara and historically were abundant across much of Africa.

Today, about 95% of African forest elephants live in Central Africa, with far fewer found in West Africa—though they once thrived there (prior to intense poaching pressure).

African forest elephants were once found throughout the humid forests of western and central Africa, but today have a highly fragmented range.

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