Elephants are among the most visible of endangered species, and are one of the key ‘flagship’ species for conservation. The African elephant has attracted renewed interest recently because of the suggestion that there are actually two distinct species: the better-known savannah elephant of East and Southern Africa, and the less-studied, smaller, forest elephant of the Central and West African rainforests. This lecture will describe an expedition I led to Ghana, an area where the two forms may once have met, and the genetical and observational work that is being undertaken to resolve the...