Once seen as loners, male elephants shown to follow elders
2020-09-05 00:00:00浏览：
What’sspecialaboutthisgroup?It’sonlymales.
Femaleelephantsareknowntoformtightfamilygroupsledbyexperiencedmatriarchs.Maleswerelongassumedtobeloners,becausetheyleavetheirmother’sherdwhentheyreach10to20yearsofage.
Anewstudyshowsthatteenagemalesaren'tanti-socialafterall.Youngermaleelephantswereseentaggingalongbehindoldermalesastheytravelfromplacetoplace.It'smoreevidenceinanemergingbodyofresearchthatshowsoldermales—liketheirfemalecounterparts—playanimportantroleinelephants'complexsociety.
ForthestudypublishedThursdayinthejournalScientificReports,researchersanalyzedphotosof1,264sightingsofmaleAfricansavannahelephantstravelingtowardtheBotetiRiverin2017and2018.Theyfoundthatyoungermalesseldomtraveledaloneandoldermalesmostoftenledgroupsofmixedages.
“Maturemaleelephantsoftentakeapositionatthefrontofthelinewhentheyareleadingthegroup"tostreamsorseasonalgrazinggrounds,saidDianaReiss,directoroftheAnimalBehaviorandConservationProgramatHunterCollege,whowasnotinvolvedinthenewstudy.
“Inhumansocieties,grandparentsarevaluedbecausetheymakereallyimportantcontributions—helpingwithchildcareandpassingdownknowledgegainedoverdecades,”shesaid.“We’renowlearningthispatternisalsotrueforsomeotherlong-livedmammals,includingdolphins,whalesandelephants.”
ThisisthefirstsuchstudyofAfricansavannahelephants.A2019paperusedmotion-activatedcamerastodescribesimilarmalegroupdynamicsamongAsianelephants.
Scientistshavelongknownmoreaboutbreedingherdsoffemaleelephants,saidConnieAllen,abiologistattheUniversityofExeterandaco-authorofthenewpaper.“Butmalesalsohavemultifacetedsociallives,andtheirgroupingsaren’tonlyshapedbykinshipties,"shesaid.
WhenseveralyoungorphanedmaleelephantswereintroducedintoaparkinPilanesberg,SouthAfrica,inthemid-1990s,theyoungmaleswereextremelyaggressiveandkilled40whiterhinoceros.Buttheirbehaviorwasmoderatedaftersixoldermaleelephantswereaddedtothepark.
“Insomeway,theoldermalescreatedorder,andallthatpandemoniumwasquelled,”saidCarlSafina,anecologistatStonyBrookUniversity,whowasnotinvolvedinthenewstudy.“We’restilllearningabouthowmaleelephantsacquiretheirculturalunderstandingofhowtoact,whomtodeferto,andwhereresourceslikefoodandwatersourcesarelocated.”
Becauseoftheirlargersizeandlongertusks,maturemaleelephantsaremostoftentargetedbypoachersandlegaltrophyhuntersinAfrica.
Butfutureconservationstrategiesshouldtakeintoaccountthementorshiprolethatoldermalesplay,saidAllen,thestudyco-author.“Malesaremoreenigmatic.Butitturnsouttheyaren’tsuchloners,”shesaid.
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