African forest elephants are among the most critically endangered large mammals, with ivory poaching and habitat loss from logging threatening their survival in Central African forests.
Forest elephant welfare is severely compromised by ivory poaching, which involves tracking, shooting, and sometimes partial processing of carcasses - a traumatic end preceded by pursuit-related stress. Survivors of witnessed poaching events show long-term behavioral changes including increased vigilance and altered movement patterns. Logging road networks that open remote forests to poachers have a disproportionate welfare impact by enabling access to previously safe areas. Conservation programs that simultaneously address logging road access and anti-poaching provide the most effective welfare protection.