This is the incredible moment a rarely seen African elephant was captured on camera for the first time in five years.

Footage shows the elusive tusker named Ousmane roaming around the Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal.

He appeared to glance at the camera trap before carrying on with his walk.

The mottled beast, named after a veteran ranger at the park, has been dubbed a 'ghost elephant' for his rare sightings. He was last seen at the park in January 2020.

Philipp Henschel, a director at the wildcat conservation organisation Panthera that captured the video, said: 'Elephants are under immense pressure in West Africa. Only a few populations of the pachyderms survive in this region. Niokolo-Koba National Park, where this individual was filmed, is the last area in Senegal where this endangered species survives.

'Panthera and our local partner, the National Parks Directorate, have gradually increased the protection of Niokolo-Koba National Park since the start of our joint park support program in 2017. Detailed surveys are currently underway to assess if the elephant we recently filmed, Ousmane, is the sole survivor in the park and, therefore Senegal.

'If this were found to be the case, we will assess the feasibility of translocating a herd of females into the park, so as to found a new breeding elephant population in Senegal.'

The African forest elephant is listed as critically endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, with poaching and habitat loss as the main threats to the population.