Mysterious, endangered ‘ghost elephant' seen for the first time in years: ‘Might now be the last'
No, this photo-bombing pachyderm is not an apparition, a phantasm or a spooky specter. He is the only African forest elephant to be spotted — via remote trail cam — in Senegal's Niokolo-Koba National Park in five long years.
The 'ghost' epithet can be applied to a range of endangered species, but ghost elephants in particular are described as being 'refugees in their own homelands, moving in secret between small patches of habitat,' by the Elephant Crisis Fund in its 2022 report on elephant population loss. 'They are being lost one by one to old age or conflict with people.'
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Back in 2020, when he was last spotted, the infrequently photographed elephant Ousmane — named for a beloved former ranger of the Senegalese park — was thought to have lived alongside five to ten other African forest elephants.
However, recent DNA analysis completed by wildlife conservation non-profit Panthera in tandem with the park confirms he's likely the only individual left, though several corroborating studies are pending.
The park — which was once a hotspot for forest elephant activity in the region, with hundreds of documented elephants roaming the wooded region — works with Panthera to protect the region's many endangered species.
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'Darting and moving elephants to a secure location has been tried, in Ivory Coast for example, but capturing these elusive individuals is very difficult and there is no guarantee that they will remain wherever they are moved to,' elaborated the Elephant Crisis Fund in the same report.
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Despite these efforts, elephant populations across the western coast of Africa are still impacted by issues like drought, poaching, the ivory harvest, habitat loss, and human-elephant contact.
'Elephants are under immense pressure in West Africa. Only a few populations of the pachyderms survive in this region. Niokolo-Koba National Park, where this individual was filmed, is the last area in Senegal where this endangered species survives,' Philipp Henschel, Panthera's West and Central Regional Director, told Newsweek.
Elephants typically live in small herds arranged around their immediate 'families.'
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Though it's likely that Ousmane is the sole African forest elephant in Senegal, Henschel confirmed that the news isn't all bad.
'Panthera and our local partner, the park authority DPN, have gradually increased the protection of Niokolo-Koba National Park since the start of our joint park support program in 2017.'
'Detailed surveys are currently underway to assess if the elephant we recently filmed, Ousmane, is the sole survivor in the park and therefore Senegal. If this were found to be the case, we will assess the feasibility of translocating a herd of females into the park, so as to found a new breeding elephant population in Senegal,' concluded Henschel.
According to the ECF, attempting to create breeding populations and establishing large protected areas with the support of local governments is the best way to restore plummeting populations, so perhaps a bigger backyard and a friendly female elephant are in store for 'ghost elephant' Ousmane.
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