There’s a Musical Reason Why We Need Elephants
A new study reveals just how vital African forest elephants are—not only to rainforests but also to the future of prized hardwoods like ebony, commonly used in piano keys and guitar fretboards.
The discovery began with Bob Taylor, co-founder of Taylor Guitars, who purchased an ebony mill in Cameroon back in 2011. Curious about the sustainability of the trees his instruments rely on, Taylor began asking big questions: “How much ebony is even left? And what happens if we run out?” His search for answers eventually led him to UCLA conservation ecologist Thomas Smith, and together they launched the Ebony Project.
Nearly a decade later, the project has made a surprising discovery: elephants are essential to the survival of ebony trees.
According to a new study published in Science Advances, forest elephants play a key role in spreading the seeds of ebony and other trees. The animals eat the fruit, carry the large seeds away from the parent tree, and deposit them—wrapped in nutrient-rich dung—far from predators and seed-eating rodents. Without elephants, this natural planting process breaks down.
In areas where elephants have disappeared, researchers found 68% fewer young ebony trees. They also detected signs of inbreeding among the remaining trees, which threatens the species’ genetic health and long-term survival.
“People think, ‘Oh, it’s a shame these magnificent creatures are threatened,’ but what they don’t realize is that losing elephants means losing the ecological services they provide,” said Smith in a press release.
Local communities and Indigenous groups have been instrumental in the Ebony Project’s efforts. So far, the initiative has planted 40,000 ebony trees and 20,000 fruit trees in Cameroon.
For Taylor, the effort goes beyond guitars. “Sometimes the most important work is about planting seeds for others to benefit from,” he says.
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