What it is
The African forest elephant is a distinct species of the Congo Basin and West African forests, smaller than the savanna elephant, with straighter tusks. IUCN listed it Critically Endangered in 2021, the first time the two African elephants were assessed separately.
Range
Central African rainforest, especially Gabon, Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, plus isolated West African forests.
What happened
Ivory poaching along logging roads, and the conversion of forest, drove the crash. The 2021 assessment estimated a decline of more than 80 percent over three generations. A 2024 African Elephant Specialist Group status report, and later DNA surveys, found additional animals; the Critically Endangered listing stands.
When / status
Critically Endangered now, primarily because of people.
Human role
Ivory and the opening of forest interiors are the main causes.
Sources
IUCN Red List (Loxodonta cyclotis, CR, 2021); AfESG forest-elephant status work, 2024.