Hmmm, I'm not sure about that middle one... Hopefully someone who knows chimes in.
From my just now Google search i found this which as I read it basically says there are two species and they have not successfully cross bred as hybrid males are not capable of reproducing. Sounds kind of like mules
As for the smaller animals mentioned by Lon, I have to think one of two things; smaller size due to habitat and genetics in that region, but still Savanna elephants. Similar to Kudu in the East Cape vs. further North.
Or there are just not big mature animals present. However Lon mentioned they were tracking a particularly large specimen. So perhaps it is the latter and just not as many truly big mature males in the area.
Another question for Lon would be regarding age based on teeth of animals taken in the past. Are animals being taken on their 5th or 6th set of molars or are they younger than that?
No matter what the situation is, this is one heck of a good deal for an elephant hunt! I'm sure the tracking and experience is just as big as anywhere
Studies of skull morphology and of nuclear DNA have strongly concluded that African elephants comprise two species. Nonetheless, has suggested a single-species model for Loxodonta based on the polyphyly of a single genetic locus, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
