%20-%20home%20page.png)
Forest Elephants - Gardeners & Seed Dispersers
Elephants disperse more seeds of more species of trees and over greater distances than any other animal on this planet.
In addition, some species of seed need to react with the acids in an elephant’s digestive system. Such seeds will therefore ONLY be dispersed as a result of having been eaten and having passed through the stomach of an elephant. This is demonstrative of an incredible symbiosis between the elephants and the forest – the forest sustains the elephants and the elephants sustain and grow the forest. The stories of the elephants and the forests are one.
Considering that it is only in the last two hundred years or so that elephant populations have plummeted to fatal levels, since the invention of modern firearms, and that before this decline it is estimated there were around 10 million elephants spread across Africa alone, that means that before mankind decimated elephant populations in the last two centuries, there were ten million tonnes of this nutrient-rich fertiliser enriching the soils of Africa every week. These ten million tonnes of fertiliser per week all also spreading the seeds of the forest itself.
With ten million tonnes of fertiliser enriching African soils every week – or the Congo Basin and central Africa to consider only forest elephants – for tens of thousands of years (and longer if we consider other elephant species now extinct), is it any wonder that the tropical rainforest of the Congo Basin – the home of forest elephants – is one of the most biologically diverse eco-systems in the world, with dense forests sprawled out like a blanket across the continent as far as the eye can see.
Ecological importance
The importance of African elephants in the ecology of their natural habitat needs to be brought to public attention if we are realistically going to be able to turn the tide of the devastating decline of Africa’s elephant populations – and in particular the largely unreported decline of African forest elephants. Forest elephants, as ‘gardeners of the forest’, have an ecological role far beyond their potential value in tourism, and they are a crucial factor in the existence of the tropical rainforests of Africa that exist today.
The Earth’s forests have a vital and irreplaceable role in maintaining climate stability, producing the ozone which forms the protective barrier layer at the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere which shields us from the radiation of the sun and allows all life, and human life itself, to exist. Tropical rainforests are also pivotal factors in global weather patterns and generating the rainfall which sustains the animal and plant life upon which we all depend to survive. The Central African forest and it’s elephants, have an importance from a local to global scale and we must save them.
FOREST ELEPHANT DISTRIBUTION
Forest elephants extend from Guinea in West Africa, through Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, and into the Central african forests of Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Congo, Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
To the east, forest elephants can still be found in Uganda, and possibly Rwanda, and to the south a population still exists in the isolated Cabinda of Angola.
Ecological importance
The importance of African elephants in the ecology of their natural habitat needs to be brought to public attention if we are realistically going to be able to turn the tide of the devastating decline of Africa’s elephant populations – and in particular the largely unreported decline of African forest elephants. Forest elephants, as ‘gardeners of the forest’, have an ecological role far beyond their potential value in tourism, and they are a crucial factor in the existence of the tropical rainforests of Africa that exist today.
The Earth’s forests have a vital and irreplaceable role in maintaining climate stability, producing the ozone which forms the protective barrier layer at the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere which shields us from the radiation of the sun and allows all life, and human life itself, to exist. Tropical rainforests are also pivotal factors in global weather patterns and generating the rainfall which sustains the animal and plant life upon which we all depend to survive. The Central African forest and it’s elephants, have an importance from a local to global scale and we must save them.
The rainforest of the Congo Basin is the second largest on Earth, second only to the Amazon rainforest, that extends from the Atlantic coast in the west to the mountains of the Albertine Rift in the east and spans the equator by nearly 7 degrees north and south. It extends through many countries including Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo.
Read more HERE
The forest elephants are the “gardeners of the forest”. These majestic creatures play an important role in maintaining healthy forest ecosystems.
We strive to raise awareness and provide support for the conservation of these animals and their habitat. Our mission is to ensure that future generations can appreciate and enjoy the beauty and majesty of forest elephants. With our help, these incredible creatures can continue to be the ecosystem engineers and vital parts of the forest ecosystem that they are meant to be.
The African Forest Elephant, one of the most threatened species on the planet. Unfortunately, they are currently facing threats from poaching, habitat destruction, and the illegal wildlife trade. We are passionate about protecting this majestic animal from the numerous threats it faces and reversing the decline in its population. Learn more about our projects and how you can help us make a difference HERE
