Animals at a French Zoo - African Elephant - Elephant giving ride to a group of people.. Part of Box 209 Boswell collection - Old and New French Zoo. African elephants are elephants of the genus Loxodonta (from the Greek words loxo (oblique sided) and donta (tooth))). The genus consists of two extant species: the African bush elephant and the smaller African forest elephant. Loxodonta is one of two existing genera of the family, Elephantidae. Fossil remains of Loxodonta have been found only in Africa, in strata as old as the middle Pliocene.