Forest elephants

Over the past century, forest elephants Loxodonta cyclotis have declined across most of their range and were recently classified by IUCN as “critically endangered”. As a result of hunting and habitat loss, only a few small groups of forest elephants survive in Nigeria today. Cross River National Park contains two important forest elephant populations in Oban and Okwangwo (contiguous with Takamanda National Park in Cameroon). Forest elephants are highly frugivorous and are instrumental in dispersing many tree species.