Elephants Are Social Animals
Elephants are social animals, and that means they are highly interactive organisms with other members of their species. This is possible thanks to the fact that they are tremendously intelligent beings and capable of creating a recognizable society in the herd.
The intelligence of elephants
In animal psychology, intelligence is the ability to solve problems. This is appreciated in nature by the presence of animals in very varied environments, which shows that survival and reproduction problems have been solved.
The human concept of intelligence makes us pay more attention to the ability to solve complex problems and not simple evolutionary challenges. We do not realize that, in the animal kingdom, intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.
Why are elephants considered intelligent beings?
We know that they are long-lived animals, that they travel a lot during their life and that they have a highly developed central nervous system already shortly after birth. And these are all characteristics that are commonly associated with the ability to solve problems. Other factors to take into account are:
- His ability to handle tools, both in the wild and in captivity. It is associated with greater cognitive aptitude and the ability to overcome challenges. For example, they use their trunks to peel the bark from trees or choose the best leaves.
- Self-awareness. Experiments have been carried out where an elephant was placed in front of a mirror and used it to find hidden food.
- And, finally, memory. Elephants have always been recognized as animals with a good memory. They learn quickly and store the knowledge for future use.
Elephants are social animals
Family structure and learning
Elephants have a family structure made up of a group of females headed by a matriarch, usually the oldest elephant. The groups formed are not excessively numerous.
For example, both the African savanna elephant ( Loxodonta africana ) and the Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ) form groups of 8-12 individuals. And the African bush elephant ( Loxodonta cyclotis ) forms even fewer groups, usually with just one female and her young.
Within the family nucleus, young unborn females are considered midwives. In this way, they help the pups learn, while benefiting from this relationship. But if there is someone who influences this learning, that is the matriarch. Being the oldest female, the rest of the females mimic her behaviors and teach them to the young.
Elephants are social animals: hierarchy between family groups
In the groups made up of females, age, size, kinship… affect the status of each one of them. And, because they tend to stay in the same group from birth to death, they form very strong ties.
On the other hand, offspring born to dominant females tend to survive better than the rest. And this seems to be due to the fact that the females themselves have preference when choosing food, which improves the quality of their milk.
And what about the males?
Males move away from the natal group when they are teenagers. Normally, they are seen forming groups of young males with continuous fights in search of improving their social status.
Here comes into play a typical period for male elephants, the ‘ must ‘. This period is characterized by highly aggressive behavior, accompanied by an increase in reproductive hormones. And it usually happens in winter.
Those males in the ‘must’ phase are reproductively dominant and are more likely to mate with females. And, if there is no ‘must’, the other characters that give dominance are size and age.
