What are the different types of African Elephants?
That is a great question. As you know, Elephants are usually divided into two types, the Savanna, or Bush Elephant and the Forest Elephant. Savanna elephants are the ones most people think of when they picture African elephants. Forest elephants are smaller than savanna elephants and have longer, thinner, straighter tusks, smaller and more rounded ears, a flatter forehead, and more toenails. Savanna elephants are mainly found in East and Southern Africa while forest elephant mainly occupy the Congo Basin of Central Africa. While a number of genetic studies have suggested that the two groups are distinct species, this is disputed and some groups, such as the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, consider the evidence inconclusive and still record them as subspecies. Some researchers have also proposed a third elephant species, the West African elephant, which inhabits both forests and savannas of West Africa, but this is not widely recognized.
