Elephant dung seeds ebony’s future for guitars
In the Congo Basin, African forest elephants disperse ebony seeds via their dung; a UCLA-led study found regions without elephants have 68% fewer ebony saplings, linking elephant decline to ebony’s survival. The Ebony Project—backed by Taylor Guitars and involving Indigenous Baka communities—has planted tens of thousands of ebony and fruit trees and aims to reach about a million ebony trees in 10 years, blending wildlife conservation with sustainable livelihoods to protect a wood long prized for guitar fretboards.