Rare elephant molar (Loxodonta africana zulu) from the Windhoek Spring Deposit, Namibia

Abstract

An elephant molar recovered from the Windhoek Zoo Park Gardens in 1961/1962, dating to 6991–7241 cal BP, is a rare specimen of Loxodonta africana zulu. Although pollen and diatom assemblages in the sediment suggest wetter conditions and more C₄ grass during the elephant's life, a bioapatite δ¹³C estimate of its diet indicates that it fed predominantly on C₃ vegetation.

Keywords:

• rare elephant
• Loxodonta africana zulu
• elephant diet
• Namibia
• Holocene

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank the Director of the National Museum of Namibia for permission to transport the L. africana zulu tooth to the USA, CITES exemption from the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, and permission from the National Heritage Council of Namibia to conduct the research. Funding was provided by National Science Foundation grant 0002193 to Brook.