Omo Forest Reserve, located in J4, Ogun State, is a large area filled with many kinds of plants and animals. The forest is home to beautiful forest elephants and over 200 different types of trees whose branches form a thick green roof above the ground.
Emmanuel Olabode, the Programme Manager of the Forest Elephant Initiative—a joint project by the Nigeria Conservation Foundation, Wild Planet Trust, Whitney Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the Ogun State Ministry of Forestry—spoke to journalists during a visit to Erin Camp (also called the Elephant Camp) inside the forest.
He explained that elephants are very smart and organized animals.
“During the rainy season, the female leader knows where to find food and water. In the dry season, she knows where to take the group,” Olabode said. “They move in an organized way — the biggest one leads in front, others take the sides and back, and the young ones stay safely in the middle. They are very protective of their babies.”
He also shared an experience where his team almost came face to face with an elephant:
“You can know they are around because their large bodies brush the leaves, but you can’t hear their footsteps. Once, while tracking them, we suddenly found one standing right in front of us. We stood still for about five minutes because any sudden movement or flashlight could be dangerous. The elephant just looked at us, then turned and left. Later, we heard the rest of the herd far away. They are really smart animals.”
Olabode showed markings on tree trunks, which his team uses to collect data about the elephants.
“We record how many elephants passed by, their ages, height, and body structure,” he said. “The marks on the trees help us estimate their shoulder height.”
He added that camera traps are also used to capture images and videos of the elephants, which help the team collect monthly data.
“Sometimes we leave the cameras in one spot for up to six months, depending on what we want to study,” he explained.
During the visit, the team also saw fresh elephant footprints on the forest path.
Olabode said that as part of their work, he and his team visit nearby communities to educate people about wildlife protection laws, especially for endangered species like elephants.
“This forest is one of the few remaining tropical rainforests in the South-West, from Lagos to Benin. It’s an important area for conservation, and we are working to upgrade its status to a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA),” he said.
According to a United Nations report, the number of African elephants has dropped from around 12 million a hundred years ago to about 400,000 today. The CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero, explained that as Africa’s human population has grown ten times larger, elephants are losing land to farming and development.
“The world must continue working with African countries to protect both elephants and the people living near them,” she said.
As CITES celebrates 50 years of protecting endangered wildlife, Higuero called for more global unity and action:
“Let the next 50 years bring stronger commitment and bold steps. We must build a world where wild animals and plants can thrive naturally, where trade helps—not harms—biodiversity, and where both people and the planet can live in balance.”
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