Structure of population, grouping patterns and density of forest elephantsin north-west Congo

The structure of the population of forest elephants visiting a clearing in north-west Congo was studied over 8 months. Out of 3314 sightings, 629 elep hants were identified (including 64% of adults). The sex ratio was about 1: 1. The number of offspring per female was 1.12. Solitary elephants (91.4% o f males) made up 35% of the population. Of females, 93.6% were grouped. Gro ups (mean size 3.5) included Females and offspring (3.4), males and females (5.0), or males only (2.3). The return rate of elephants at the clearing s uggested that up to 1900 individuals have visited the clearing. This confir ms that elephant densities are especially high in north Congo.