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Secrets of male elephant society revealed in the wild

2020-09-05 00:00:00浏览:
Secrets of male elephant society revealed in the wildOldermaleelephantshaveanimportantroletoplayinthesurvivalofthespeciesbypassingontheirskillsandknowledgetoyoungermales,astudyofAfricanelephantssuggests.

Matriarchsleadgroupsofdaughtersandtheircalves,whilemalesgrowupandleavetheherd.

Maturebullelephantsplayanimportantroleinleadingtheseyoungermales,researchershavefound.

Andtheirlossbypoachingorhuntingcouldhave"disastrousimpacts".

Thestudy,publishedinthejournalScientificReportssuggestsolderbullsarelikelytooccupyasimilarroleinmalesocietyasmatriarchsinfemalebreedingherds.

"Ithaslongbeenknownthatolderfemalesmakemoreeffectiveleadersofbreedingherdsduetotheirenhancedexperience-weprovidecompellingsupportforasimilarroleofoldermalesinthemalesociety,"saidConnieAllenoftheUniversityofExeterandcharityElephantsforAfrica.

Theresearchersinvestigatedthebehaviourofmorethan1,250maleAfricansavannahelephantstravellingtoandfromtheBotetiRiverintheMakgadikgadiPansNationalPark,Botswana.

Lonemaleelephantsaccountedforafifthofsightingsonelephantpathwaysusingcameratraps,withadolescentmalestravellingalongtheserouteslessoftenthanexpected,suggestinglonetravelisriskierforyoungerandlessexperiencedmales.

Matureadultbullsweremorelikelytotravelatthefrontofgroupsofmales,suggestingtheymaybeimportantleaderswithvaluableecologicalknowledge.

Survivalsecrets
Theideathatloneoldermalesdolittleforthesurvivalofthespecieshasbeenusedasanargumenttosupportthelegaltrophyhuntingofoldmales.

However,thenewresearchsuggeststhatkillingoldermalescouldhave"disastrousconsequences"inremovingkeyfiguresinmaleelephantsociety.

"Theoldestbulls,withpotentiallydecadesmoreexperienceofutilisingtheenvironmentandnavigatingcrucialresources,inourstudyweremorelikelytoleadall-malegroups,"saidConnieAllen.

"Thissuggestsyounger,newlyindependent,adolescentmalestargettheseindividualsfortheirheightenedsocialandecologicalknowledge.

"Removingtheserare,keyindividualscouldhavedisastrousimpactsonthewiderbullpopulationandleadtomajordisruptiontointergenerationalflowofinformationinthislong-livedspecies."

Maleswerelongthoughttobelargelysolitaryanimalsaftergainingindependenceandleavingtheirfamilygroup.Butthereisgrowingevidencethatmalesaswellasfemalesliverichsociallives.

Thishasbeenhardertostudyinmaleelephants,whichroamlargedistancesandaremoredifficulttotrack.

ProfDarrenCroftoftheUniversityofExetersaidthenewworkhighlightedthatoldmaleelephantsmightactasrepositoriesforecologicalknowledgesuchaswhenandwheretofindfoodandwater,whichmayinturnprovidesurvivalbenefitsfortheyoungmaleswhoassociatewiththem.

"Thesefindingsraiseconcernsovertheremovalofoldmalesfromelephantpopulationsbytrophyhuntingandillegalpoachingandpointtotheneedtoprotectoldmaleelephants,"hesaid.

Thesuddendeathsofmorethan275elephantsinNorthernBotswanamadeheadlinesearlierthisyear.

Testshaveprovedinconclusive,witharangeoffactorsblamedforthismassdie-off,includingnaturaltoxins.

Morethan20elephantshavediedinneighbouringZimbabwefromasuspectedbacterialinfectionorthestressofwalkinglongdistancesforfoodandwater.

Inbothcases,poachinghasbeenruledout.