The Kakum Conservation Area (KCA), a 366 km2 moist evergreen forest, is considered one of the best protected forests in Ghana. It has among the highest biodiversity in the country, comprising endangered and vulnerable species, including the largest forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) population in Ghana. Once a large contiguous, pristine forest, the areas surrounding the KCA were increasingly fragmented forest by timber extraction and agricultural development during most of the 20th century. Farming is the primary source of income for the surrounding communities, and adjacent lands are increasingly cultivated for cash crops, subsequently attracting more farmers and elevating the population growth rate around the KCA above other regions in Ghana. The rapidly growing human population presents increasing concern for livelihood and the wellbeing of the surrounding communities. Cash crop farming and local employment do not provide enough income, forcing some residents to hunt bushmeat to sell or consume. As economic pressures in the rapidly growing surrounding communities increase, threats to biodiversity and wildlife conservation initiatives in the KCA will as well.Around 2000, several studies were conducted in the KCA that focused on community livelihoods, illegal hunting, and the status of threatened species. Outcomes from those studies included demography and abundance (< 400) estimates of the resident forest elephant population. While forest elephants in the KCA are rarely poached and the population abundance is assumed stable, elephants are vulnerable to increasingly isolated habitats and the effects of human population growth and development. Since 2000, only a few sporadic elephant dung count surveys have been conducted in the KCA, leaving a data gap concerning the demography and health of this isolated, small population. Park rangers of the KCA occasionally conduct foot patrols throughout the forest as part of their anti-poaching efforts, during which they track illegal gun hunting by evidence of empty shotgun shells, calcium carbide powder, and the sound of a gunshot. Gun hunting is the second most common hunting method in the KCA, after snare traps, often targeting forest duiker and primates. The gun hunting evidence, however, are likely an underestimate of the true intensity of gun hunting throughout the KCA. In this study, I use passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) technology to examine the vocal behavior of African forest elephants in the KCA during the rainy season in 2000 and in 2018 to assess if the elephant population has remained stable between the two survey years. I also quantify spatial and temporal gunshot activity to determine if illegal hunting in KCA has changed, and if it influenced elephant vocal behavior. PAM is a non-invasive method of collecting continuous, long-term occurrence data at multiple sites simultaneously across large spatial scales. Audio data were continuously recorded at 19 sites throughout the KCA in June through August 2018 and compared to a separate acoustic survey conducted during the same months in 2000. Forest elephant call rates were significantly less in 2018 than in 2000, and not influenced by gun hunting. Since elephant abundance is stable, the observed changes in vocal behavior are indicative of behavioral or demographic shifts. The mean frequency contour of elephant vocalizations (rumbles) was significantly higher in 2018 than in 2000, revealing a potential shift in demography or behavior, warranting a need for continued surveys of the KCA elephant populations that focuses on demography and abundance estimation. Forest elephant spatial distribution when vocalizing appears related to changes in cash crops between the years. Gun hunting was higher in 2000 than in 2018, suggesting a reduction in poaching. Most gunshots were detected during the night, with few during the day in both survey years. These results indicate that passive acoustic technology would be an effective method for monitoring illegal hunting throughout the KCA.