page_title: Knysna elephants
hierarchical_section_title: Knysna elephants
caption_attribution_description: English: "A Scene in Sitsikamma" - Samuel Daniell was appointed artist for a British expedition into the Cape interior in 1801. He sketched animals from life in their natural habitats, and was praised for his accuracy and attention to detail. Even so, the elephants depicted here are Asian and not African. Upon his return, Daniell used his field sketches to create and publish these aquatints
context_page_description: The Knysna elephants are a very small number of African bush elephants, a relict population of large herds which roamed the Tsitsikamma Forest and surrounding regions at the southern tip of Africa until the 1800s and 1900s, when contact with European farmers and hunters led to their near extinction. It is conjectured that about 1,000 elephants historically roamed the Outeniqua/Tsitsikamma area. A 2006 DNA analysis of dung samples has revealed the presence of at least 5 cows and possibly some bulls and calves, moving within an area of 121,000 hectares of forest managed by South African National Parks, and constituting the only unfenced elephant group in South Africa. By 2019, researchers have concluded that there is only one elephant, a mature female, remaining in Knysna.
context_section_description: The Knysna elephants are a very small number of African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana), a relict population of large herds which roamed the Tsitsikamma Forest and surrounding regions at the southern tip of Africa until the 1800s and 1900s, when contact with European farmers and hunters led to their near extinction. It is conjectured that about 1,000 elephants historically roamed the Outeniqua/Tsitsikamma area. A 2006 DNA analysis of dung samples has revealed the presence of at least 5 cows and possibly some bulls and calves, moving within an area of 121,000 hectares of forest managed by South African National Parks, and constituting the only unfenced elephant group in South Africa. By 2019, researchers have concluded that there is only one elephant, a mature female, remaining in Knysna.
caption: A fanciful scene in the Tsitsikamma Forest, strangely showing Asian elephants
  by Samuel Daniell circa 1801
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