What Animal Lives Where

Where have African elephants been recorded?

Loxodonta africana occurrence evidence comes from 1,391 records in 22 countries and territories, from 1902 to 2026. Most records come from Uganda.

African elephant
African elephant — Photo (display-sized rendition): Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
MammaliaProboscideaElephantidaeLoxodonta

Observation evidence passport

Evidence found

1,391 records across 22 countries and territories, 1902–2026.

Loxodonta africana · GBIF taxon key 2435350

Source coverage

CC0 GBIF Animalia occurrence facets, including country, month and year summaries.

Refreshed 2026-09-20. Inspect the taxon on GBIF.

What this means

The species has been recorded in the listed places in the stated source universe. Peak month: September.

11 months reach at least 10% of the peak facet count.

What this does not mean

repeated describes the record pattern, not a formal range, residency, abundance or conservation assessment.

A single record remains evidence of a recording, not proof that a population lives there.

Compare this animal’s observation pattern

When it is recorded

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: September. Records cluster in the months an animal is present and being looked for, so a summer peak can reflect observer effort as much as the animal.

Records over time

19022026

Recording effort has risen steeply almost everywhere since the 1990s, so a rising line usually shows more observers rather than more animals.

Where African elephant has been recorded

The countries below show where occurrence evidence exists for African elephant. They do not define a complete habitat range: survey effort differs by place, and historical or one-off records can appear alongside repeated presence.

PlaceRecordsShare
Uganda 498
South Africa 341
Kenya 184
Tanzania 93
Namibia 90
Botswana 72
Zimbabwe 35
Benin 16
Zambia 15
DR Congo 10
Malawi 10
United States 6
Rwanda 5
SZ 4
Ghana 3
Angola 2
South Sudan 2
Cameroon 1
Denmark 1
Mozambique 1
Sudan 1
Chad 1

Related animals

Others in the family Elephantidae.

African forest elephant
African forest elephant
18 records
Record pattern: repeated
Repeated records across many years and months. This is inferred from how many years and months the animal appears in, not from a range map — treat it as evidence, not a formal assessment.