Male Elephants Are Not Loners After All
2020-09-12
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1A group of elephants walk across an area in northern Botswana.
2Their ears move and their trunks sometimes touch the ground.
3As they pass, a camera, hidden in low plants, records the presence of each elephant.
4What is special about this group? It is only males.
5Female elephants are known to form tight family groups that are led by experienced females.
6Males were thought to be loners - creatures that are often alone.
7They often leave their mother's herd when they reach 10 to 20 years of age.
8However, a new study shows that young males are not always loners.
9Younger male elephants were seen following older males as they traveled from place to place.
10The findings support other research that suggests older males play an important part in elephants' complex society.
11The study was published recently in Scientific Reports.
12Researchers studied videos of 1,264 sightings of male African elephants.
13The elephants were traveling toward Botswana's Boteti River in 2017 and 2018.
14They found that younger males rarely traveled alone.
15Older males most often led groups of mixed ages.
16Diana Reiss is the director of the Animal Behavior and Conservation Program at Hunter College.
17Reiss was not involved in the new study.
18"Mature male elephants often take a position at the front of the line when they are leading the group," she said.
19Reiss added, "In human societies, grandparents are valued because they make really important contributions - helping with childcare and passing down knowledge gained over decades...We're now learning this pattern is also true for some other long-lived mammals, including dolphins, whales and elephants."
20This is the first study of African savannah elephants of its kind.
21A 2019 paper also used cameras to find similar male group actions among Asian elephants.
22Scientists have long known more about breeding herds of female elephants, said Connie Allen, a biologist at the University of Exeter in Britain.
23Allen was a co-writer of the new paper.
24She added that males have complex social lives, and their groupings are not only shaped by family ties.
25When several young male elephants were introduced into a park in Pilanesberg, South Africa in the mid-1990s, they were very aggressive.
26They killed 40 white rhinoceros.
27But their behavior changed after six older male elephants were added to the park.
28"In some way, the older males create order," said Carl Safina, an ecologist at Stony Brook University.
29Safina also was not involved in the new study.
30Mature male elephants are larger and have longer tusks - a kind of large tooth that sticks out of the mouth.
31They are often the target of hunters - both legal and illegal - in Africa.
32Allen said that future conservation plans should consider the part that older males play.
33Males are more mysterious, she said, "but it turns out they aren't such loners."
34I'm John Russell.
1A group of elephants walk across an area in northern Botswana. Their ears move and their trunks sometimes touch the ground. As they pass, a camera, hidden in low plants, records the presence of each elephant. 2What is special about this group? It is only males. 3Female elephants are known to form tight family groups that are led by experienced females. 4Males were thought to be loners - creatures that are often alone. They often leave their mother's herd when they reach 10 to 20 years of age. 5However, a new study shows that young males are not always loners. 6Younger male elephants were seen following older males as they traveled from place to place. The findings support other research that suggests older males play an important part in elephants' complex society. 7The study was published recently in Scientific Reports. Researchers studied videos of 1,264 sightings of male African elephants. The elephants were traveling toward Botswana's Boteti River in 2017 and 2018. They found that younger males rarely traveled alone. Older males most often led groups of mixed ages. 8Diana Reiss is the director of the Animal Behavior and Conservation Program at Hunter College. Reiss was not involved in the new study. 9"Mature male elephants often take a position at the front of the line when they are leading the group," she said. 10Reiss added, "In human societies, grandparents are valued because they make really important contributions - helping with childcare and passing down knowledge gained over decades...We're now learning this pattern is also true for some other long-lived mammals, including dolphins, whales and elephants." 11This is the first study of African savannah elephants of its kind. A 2019 paper also used cameras to find similar male group actions among Asian elephants. 12Scientists have long known more about breeding herds of female elephants, said Connie Allen, a biologist at the University of Exeter in Britain. 13Allen was a co-writer of the new paper. She added that males have complex social lives, and their groupings are not only shaped by family ties. 14When several young male elephants were introduced into a park in Pilanesberg, South Africa in the mid-1990s, they were very aggressive. They killed 40 white rhinoceros. But their behavior changed after six older male elephants were added to the park. 15"In some way, the older males create order," said Carl Safina, an ecologist at Stony Brook University. Safina also was not involved in the new study. 16Mature male elephants are larger and have longer tusks - a kind of large tooth that sticks out of the mouth. They are often the target of hunters - both legal and illegal - in Africa. 17Allen said that future conservation plans should consider the part that older males play. Males are more mysterious, she said, "but it turns out they aren't such loners." 18I'm John Russell. 19Christina Larson reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 20_____________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22trunk - n. the long, flexible nose of an elephant 23herd - n. a group of animals that live or are kept together 24mature - adj. not young : middle-aged or older 25contribution - n. the act of giving something : the act of contributing 26pattern - n. the regular and repeated way in which something happens or is done 27breeding -n. the process by which animals produce and care for their young; related to producing and caring for the young 28conservation - n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources