African elephant vs coigue

Loxodonta africana compared with Nothofagus dombeyi

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while coigue is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	coigue
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Fagales (Beeches & Oaks)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Nothofagaceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Nothofagus
Species	Loxodonta africana	Nothofagus dombeyi

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

coigue

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	coigue
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	65 years	—
Average Length	6.0 m	—
Average Weight	6.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

coigue

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found in Ireland.

African elephant

The largest land animal on Earth, African elephants can reach 7,000 kg and inhabit sub-Saharan savannas, forests, and wetlands. Highly intelligent with complex social structures led by matriarchs, they communicate through infrasound, rumbles, and touch. As ecosystem engineers, they shape habitats by uprooting trees, digging waterholes, and dispersing seeds. Vulnerable, with populations declining due to ivory poaching and habitat loss.

coigue

Coigue (Nothofagus dombeyi) is a large, evergreen or semi-deciduous tree in the southern beech family Nothofagaceae, one of the most ecologically dominant tree species of the Valdivian temperate rainforest of Chile and Argentina. Trees can exceed 40 metres in height with massive trunks and broad, rounded crowns clothed in small, dark green, toothed leaves. Unlike many southern beeches, N. dombeyi retains much of its foliage through winter, making it an important year-round canopy component in the cool, wet forests of the Chilean lake district and Andean foothill zones, from approximately 35°S to 47°S latitude. The species commonly grows in association with other Nothofagus species, Laurelia, Podocarpus, bamboo (Chusquea), and various tree ferns in the highly diverse Valdivian floristic province. Coigue timber is used for construction, furniture, and fuel in Chilean forestry, and the species is planted in reforestation programmes. Ecologically, it is a keystone canopy component supporting a rich diversity of epiphytes, birds, and invertebrates. Nothofagus dombeyi is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN given its abundance across large areas of native Chilean and Argentine forests, though these forests face ongoing threats from agricultural expansion, logging, and invasive alien species.