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.