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Animal So Rare It's Called a 'Ghost' Caught on Cam for First Time in Years
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Niokolo-Koba National Park (PNNK) in Senegal has long been a haven for some of West Africa's most-elusive wildlife. Yet among them, one creature has remained almost mythical—an elephant so rarely seen that it has earned the name "ghost elephant."
Now, for the first time in half-a-decade, a camera trap has captured video footage of the solitary giant, offering a haunting glimpse into the park's dwindling population of African elephants.
New footage captured by wildcat conservation organization Panthera, in collaboration with Senegal's National Parks Directorate (DPN), revealed the moment a male elephant called Ousmane moved through the darkness.
Named after Ousmane Sarr, a veteran park ranger who dedicated his life to protecting Niokolo-Koba's endangered species, the elephant steps silently into view in the black-and-white footage. His large frame glows pale under the night-vision lens.
The African forest elephant is smaller and differs slightly to the Savanna elephant. Native to humid tropical forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin, it is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a shoulder height of 7 feet, 9 inches. The term "ghost elephant" is often used to describe the isolated populations in areas like Senegal.
Ousmane the elephant was last spotted in January 2019, and is the first to be photographed since 2020. He is considered one of just five to 10 elephants remaining in the park—an alarming number considering the area was home to approximately 450 elephants in the late 1970s.
Today, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species places the African forest elephant as critically endangered and decreasing in population.
A picture from footage of the "ghost elephant" captured for the first time in five years.
A picture from footage of the "ghost elephant" captured for the first time in five years.
Panthera & Senegal's National Parks Directorate DPN
Hope for the Elephants
Still, there is some hope for the solitary elephants, as the sighting sparked discussions on what can be done to protect the creature for the future, including potential relocation strategies to restore a breeding elephant population.
Niokolo-Koba's wildlife has shown resilience before. The park's critically endangered West African lion population has more than doubled since 2011, following persistent anti-poaching efforts and scientific monitoring led by conservation experts Panthera and the DPN.
This success recently prompted UNESCO to remove Niokolo-Koba from the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger, reflecting conservation gains—including protections for the region's largest-remaining leopard population.
Ousmane is not the only recent rediscovery in the park either. Just a few months ago, another camera trap captured an endangered giant pangolin, marking the first documented sighting of the species in Niokolo-Koba in 24 years.
Newsweek reached out to Philipp Henschel and Chele Martinez Marti from the Panthera organization via email for comment.
