Elephants used to extend over almost all of Africa South of the Sahara as well as the Mediterranean coasts. You can see how much of their range is left in green. They have lost 50% of their former range since 1979. Only 20% of their habitat is being protected.
There are two subspecies – the larger savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana africana), which roams grassy plains and woodlands, and the smaller forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), which lives in the equatorial forests of central and western Africa.
Savannah elephants are larger than forest elephants, and their tusks curve outwards. In addition to being smaller, forest elephants are darker and their tusks are straighter and downward pointing.
Another distinguishing feature is that Savannah elephants have four toes on their front feet and thee on the rear, whereas forest elephants have five and four on theirs.