African savanna elephant

African Elephant
African savanna elephant

African Elephant
African savanna elephant

Top
Facts
Why They Matter
Threats
What WWF is Doing
How You Can Help

Facts

Status
Endangered
Scientific Name
Loxodonta africana africana
Height
10-13 feet
Weight
4-7 tons
Habitats
All of sub-Saharan Africa except for Central Africa’s dense tropical forest

African savanna elephants are the largest species of elephant and the biggest terrestrial animal on Earth. They are easily distinguished by their very large ears—which allow them to radiate excess heat—and front legs which are noticeably longer than the hind legs.

African savanna elephants are found in 23 countries and live in a variety of habitats, from open and wooded savannas to even some deserts and forests. The largest populations are in Southern and Eastern African countries, including Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, Zambia, and South Africa.

As a result of their visibility within the open areas where they live, African savanna elephants are well studied and populations are easily estimated. Each family unit usually consists of around 10 females and their calves, and the bulls associate with these herds only during mating. Several family units often join together to form a “clan” consisting of up to several hundred members led by a female matriarch. Due to their habitat, savanna elephants are often found grazing on grasses, but they also browse on a wide variety of plants and fruits. This selection varies depending on the time of year; during the rainy season the elephant will feed more on grass than during the dry season.

Places
Namibia

Browse Photos & Videos

Two years after China bans elephant ivory trade, demand for elephant ivory is down

Two years ago this month, China took the monumental step of banning elephant ivory trade within the country. Dec. 31, 2017 was the last day it was legal to buy or sell ivory there.

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Why They Matter

Savanna elephants contribute to the maintenance of the savannas and open woodlands by reducing tree densities. Without them, many other plants and animals would not survive in the woodland areas.

Threats

Extinction Risk Endangered
1. EX
  Extinct
  
  No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died
2. EW
  Extinct in the Wild
  
  Known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population
3. CR
  Critically Endangered
  
  Facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the Wild
4. EN
  Endangered
  
  Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild
5. VU
  Vulnerable
  
  Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild
6. NT
  Near Threatened
  
  Likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future
7. LC
  Least Concern
  
  Does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Near Threatened

Savanna elephants contribute to the maintenance of the savannas and open woodlands by reducing tree densities. Without them, many other plants and animals would not survive in the woodland areas.

Illegal Wildlife Trade

Poaching is the primary threat to savanna elephants. Their ivory fetches high prices in illegal black markets in Asia and even the United States. Limited resources combined with remote and inaccessible elephant habitats make it difficult for governments to monitor and protect elephant herds. The impacts of war and over-exploitation of natural resources often lead to increased poaching as elephants are also regarded as source of wild meat. 2011 saw the highest volume of illegal ivory seized since global records began in 1989.

Human-Elephant Conflict

Destroyed water pump from an African savanna elephant attack in Namibia.

Human-elephant conflict impacts savanna elephant populations. Killings are often retaliatory as elephants eat and trample crops, raid food stores, and damage village infrastructure including precious water sources. Since an elephant can eat over 600 pounds of food a day, even a small herd can wipe out a farmer’s annual crop in a single night. Elephants disrupt community life—occasionally leading to injury and death of people. In such instances, authorities are obliged to take action and as a result, many elephants are shot. As elephant and human populations grow, the threat only worsens. Small protected areas are inadequate to stop conflict since elephants require plenty of freedom to roam.

What WWF Is Doing

Local people inspect the chili plot in Namibia. The chili is used for the production of "chili bombs," a mixture of dried elephant dung and hot chili, which are placed in crop fields to keep elephants away.

Research and Monitoring

At the landscape level, WWF advocates for the creation and adequate management of protected areas and the identification and securitization of migration corridors. This means improved zoning for land use so that farmers don’t plant too close to elephant paths, and so known wildlife dispersal areas remain intact. Tracking elephant movements within Namibia’s Zambezi region (formerly Caprivi Strip) has allowed us to better understand the impact of barriers, such as fences and roads, to elephant movement. We are working in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA), 109 million acres across five southern African countries that are home to 50% of Africa's remaining elephants—Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—to facilitate the free transboundary movement of elephants and other wildlife across the world's largest terrestrial transboundary conservation area.

Bringing Benefits to Communities

To foster a growing ecotourism economy within conservancies, WWF helps find investors and offers business training to conservancy members. Joint-venture lodges and campsites provide the largest overall source of benefits to conservancies. Tourism creates employment and fosters a variety of other sources of revenue, such as craft markets.

Easing Human-Elephant Conflict

African elephant human - elephant conflict

“Chili bombs,” a mixture of dried elephant dung and hot chili, are placed in crop fields to keep elephants away because they do not like the smell of chili.

Since 2001, WWF has established a number of projects to tackle conflict with elephants. WWF supports successful short-term approaches, especially if they are focused on early detection, increased guarding and use of active deterrents as well as passive, chili-based barrier methods. The key, however, lies in integrated land-use planning accompanied by incentives to conserve wild spaces. WWF has helped hundreds of villages implement practical measures to protect their crops and property from elephants. These include deterring elephants by spreading chilli or tobacco near crops, using beehives as fences, and using noisemakers like vuvuzelas. We’ve also created alternative water points for wildlife to mitigate conflict

Fighting Illegal Wildlife Trade

To reduce the illegal trade in elephant products, WWF supports antipoaching efforts within and around protected areas. We also work to establish new protected areas to provide safe havens for elephants.

We work with TRAFFIC , the world’s largest wildlife trade monitoring network, to assess trends in the illegal trade in elephant products. This includes implementing the CITES Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) which monitors and tracks elephant ivory seizures.