African Elephant

[Flutterby]

Looks like a big guy.

[Lisbeth]

To me the ellie looks like a lady

[Peter Betts]

Sunset at Mooiplaas waterhole ..a Famous Ellie and his 2 Askaris

[Flutterby]

Stunning colours!

[Lisbeth]

Bull elephants – their importance as individuals in elephant societies

Posted on 5 April, 2019 by Guest Blogger in Research, Wildlife and the Decoding Science post series


Image source: Dr. Kate Evans, Elephants for Africa

Written by Dr. Kate Evans, Elephants for Africa

It has long been recognised that older female elephants are pivotal to elephant ecology and herd survival (McComb et al. 2011; Foley et al. 2008; Moss et al. 2011), but what of older males? Longevity in males is associated with size (the older the bull the taller he is), dominance, prolonged musth periods and reproductive success (Hollister-Smith et al. 2007). Until recently, the social life of bulls has drawn less interest from researchers and tourists alike, being viewed as solitary when not having random associations with other bulls or joining female herds for mating opportunities.

The realisation of the importance of the social ecology of male elephants and the role of older males in their society came at a huge cost when wildlife areas in South Africa, that had introduced young Kruger cull orphans without the social structure of older individuals, lost an incredible amount of rhino due to male adolescent elephant attacks. These young males were hitting puberty and immediately going into musth (a condition not normally experienced until a male elephant is in this mid to late twenties) as there were no older bulls to suppress it.

Coming into premature musth, they sought out reproduction opportunities, and when the young female elephants showed no interest they turned their attention to rhinos; these unusual interactions turned aggressive which often resulted in the death of the rhino. The introduction of older bulls into these areas soon put a stop to most of this ‘delinquent’ behaviour (Slotow et al. 2000; Slotow & van Dyk 2001).

This period of adolescence is one of huge change for young males, hitting puberty at the average age of 14 years (Short, Mann & Hay 1967; Lee 1986) and becoming independent of their herd by their early twenties (Poole 1989). It is a time of transition for bulls from leaving their herd to joining bull society.

Not only are they leaving their natal herd, but they are also leaving their natal area (Moss 1988), and so the knowledge of where to go for food and water – which they will have learned during their time with their herd – will be of limited use to them as they explore new areas.

How best do you learn where resources are in these new areas? Perhaps the easiest way to learn is from those that have thrived there – the larger, and therefore older, bulls that show by their physical presence that they know where good resources are.


Image source: Dr. Kate Evans, Elephants for Africa

Our studies on male elephants in the Okavango Delta and subsequently the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park in Botswana has shown that male elephants are selective of who they spend time with, choosing to be in groups with males of a similar age (Evans & Harris 2008) which, when you are trying to assert yourself in your new social network, would be the best place to be as these are the individuals with whom you want to establish the social hierarchy.

Not only do they choose which age groups to hang out with they are also selective of the individual they spend time with, forming bonds with particular individuals (Pitfield 2017). However, when we looked at who their nearest neighbours were when in all male groups, we found that males of all ages prefer to be closest to those in the older age classification (>36 years of age) – those that are often referred to as past their reproductive prime and surplus to the biological needs of the population.

Our research in the Okavango Delta was focused in a bull area, with the majority of sightings being of males and a healthy population of older individuals. However, this changed over time with the western Delta becoming wetter from 2008 onwards, with more permanent water resources becoming available and an increase in females. We then started seeing less of the older males and wondered where they were going.

Males are often referred to as higher risk takers and more exploratory and thus it is no surprise that it is the males that are leading the way of the expansion of the Botswana elephants into historical rangelands.

At the same time we noticed the large bulls were frequenting our study area in the western Delta less, and reports were coming to us about large aggregations of males in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, south of the Delta.

In 2012 we moved to this area to retain our focus on bull elephant ecology in a bull area – to further our understanding of bull social ecology and the role of bull areas and to address the increasing issue of human-elephant competition in the area.

In 2009, the Boteti River started to flow again after a hiatus of some 18 years, this vital resource of water drew in elephants and other wildlife, alongside the human population. Whilst an obvious important physical resource for elephants, it soon became apparent that it serves as an important social resource, with male elephants spending a lot of time here interacting with other males (not just drinking and bathing), with aggregations of 100 males not an uncommon sighting.


© Jess Isden

Here the majority of our sightings are of male elephants (98% of all sightings) and again we are seeing that the older bulls are playing an important role in bull society. It may well be that these large numbers at the river give them an opportunity to select who to hang out with. Given the close proximity to community lands, and the predominance of older bulls raiding the crops (Stevens 2018), it may also be that younger bulls are learning the value of human habitation to their dietary requirements by spending time with these older males.

The management and conservation of elephants is always a hot topic of debate, from the effects of large offtake due to poaching and or management strategies, which individuals to hunt and who to translocate. Historically these decisions have been based purely on numbers with herd integrity being taken into account in later years.

As we learn more about the social requirements of male elephants, we must consider these in the management and conservation decisions we make; the importance of the older individual to a ‘normal’ society and the importance of bonds in the stability of populations.

References

• Evans, K. & Harris, S. (2008). Adolescence in male African elephants, Loxodonta africana, and the importance of sociality. 76, 779-787
• Foley, C., Pettorelli, N, & Foley, L. (2008) Severe drought and calf survival in elephants. Biology Letters 4(5) 541-544
• Hollister-Smith, J., Poole, J.H., Archie, E.A., Vance, E.A., Georgiadis, N.J., Moss, C.J. & Alberts, S.C. (2007). Age, musth and paternity success in wild male elephants, Loxodonta africana. Animal Behaviour, 74, 287-296
• Lee, P.C. (1986) Early social development among African elephant calves. National Geographic Research, 2, 388-401.
• McComb, K., Moss, C., Durant, S.M., Baker, L. & Sayialel, S. (2001) Matriarchs as repositories of social knowledge in African elephants. Science, 292, 491-494.
• Moss, C. (1988) Elephant Memories. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.
• Moss, C. J., Harvey C., & Lee, P.C. eds. (2011) The Amboseli elephants: a long-term perspective on a long-lived mammal. University of Chicago Press
• Pitfield, A.R. (2017) The social and environmental factors affecting the life of bull African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in a ‘bull area’ – a social network analysis. MSc Thesis. University of Bristol. pp87
• Poole, J.H. (1989) Announcing intent: the aggressive state of musth in African elephants. Animal Behaviour, 37, 140-152.
• Short, R.V., Mann, T. & Hay, M.F. (1967) Male reproductive organs of the African elephant. Journal of Reproductive Fertility, 13, 517-536.
• Slotow, R. & Van Dyk, G. (2001) Role of delinquent young “orphan” male elephants in high mortality of white rhinoceros in Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa. Koedoe, 44, 85-94.
• Slotow, R., Balfour, D. & Howison, O. (2001) Killing of black and white rhinoceroses by African elephants in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, South Africa. Pachyderm, 31, 14-20.
• Stevens, J. (2018) Understanding human-elephant interactions in and around Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana. PhD Thesis, University of Bristol. pp243

[Lisbeth]

Elephants are sentient and conservation strategy should adapt, says researcher

Posted on 25 April, 2019 by Guest Blogger in Animal Encounters, Research, Wildlife and the Decoding Science post series.


© Dr. Michelle Henley

Written by Dr. Michelle Henley – Elephants Alive Director, Co-founder and Principal Researcher

We struggle as humans to understand our own actions. How can we begin to understand and provide possible interpretations for the actions of other species? Yet elephants have been acknowledged as ‘sentient’ beings in the National Norms and Standards for the Management of Elephants in South Africa according to which ‘…..interventions to manage an elephant should seek to minimise any resultant pain or trauma to the elephant’1.

‘Sentience’ refers to an ability to feel or be aware of feelings2. But how has science assisted us to arrive as such an abstract conclusion?

To name but a few of the latest findings: Not only are elephants capable of engaging in effective tool-use3 but they have also passed the mirror self-recognition test as have apes and dolphins4. Elephants’ brains have a relatively large hippocampus compared to primates, which may explain their long social and chemical memories5. Consequently, they can keep track spatially of where other individuals are relative to themselves6 and it has even been shown that elephants can classify subgroups of humans that pose different degrees of danger7.

Humans still represent the biggest threat to elephants and their stress hormone responses to particular human activities (hunting, immobilisation, translocation or tourism) have successfully been quantified8,9. Elephants are known to exhibit concern for deceased individuals or to offer assistance to conspecifics in distress10. Research has shown us that elephants show higher levels of interest in elephant skulls and ivory than in other natural objects11.


A collared elephant cow carrying an elephant bone © Dr. Michelle Henley

We now know that the oldest individuals in a group have enhanced social discrimination and consequently function as important repositories of social knowledge12. Gradually it has become permissible to talk about elephant cognition13 or the empathy of elephants14, and with this in mind we would like to introduce you to an elephant and her family, which typifies these traits which have recently been bestowed upon elephants.

We have known the Grass herd for a number of years and have always been struck by their level of habituation. All the individual females within this family unit have been given the genus names of Southern African grass species. Some individuals in the herd are more familiar to us than others.


Eragrostis – an old elephant cow who was blind © Dr. Michelle Henley

Eragrostis (Love grass) was one such individual. She was an old cow who had stopped lactating and had the habit of bringing up the rear of the herd. With time we realised that Eragrostis was blind. Despite her handicap which slowed her down considerably, her daughter Themeda (Red grass) made sure that she was never far from her and usually only an audible rumble away.

The old great-grandmother of the herd seemed to have lost her fear of man. She habitually used the roads as walkways, presumably because they represented easier walking as opposed to stumbling through the bush. Consequently, she frequently encountered humans traversing the roads and must have gradually realised that they mean her no harm. As Eragrostis seemed particularly habituated, we had the privilege of watching and experiencing the level of patience with which her daughter would wait for her.

On wind-still days, Eragrostis would stand still and spread her ears slightly after emitting a contact rumble, which she knew that one of her closest of kin would answer. The appropriate response would help her move in the right direction. On more challenging days, Themeda made sure that she was never too far from her mother to prevent her from rushing back to her and offering her a comforting greeting or a gentle touch of the trunk, which was usually sufficient for Eragrostis to orientate herself again.


Themeda, the daughter of Eragrostis © Dr. Michelle Henley

Sadly, we no longer see Eragrostis and we presume that she has died. Given what research has revealed in terms of elephants’ consciousness and intelligence, we can well imagine that Themeda will remember where in the sea of bush her mother’s bleaching bones are slowly decaying.

We have on occasion, seen the ghostly silence and seriousness that befalls an elephant when they find the bones of another although we have not known the degree of relatedness amongst them. If you were fortunate enough to witness the care with which Themeda used to assist her mother, you would also not find it hard to imagine how she would probably tenderly fondle her mother’s bones when she came upon them. Is Themeda paying respect toward the social repository that her mother’s skull represents or is she merely remembering her?

We may never know but as researchers strive to understand the consciousness of certain species experimentally, we may well one day look back with humility.

Suggested reading
• 1DEAT 2007. Draft National Norms and Standards for the management of elephants in South Africa. Department of Environment and Tourism. Government Gazette, 2 March 2007.
• 2Geddie, W. 1966. Chamber’s twentieth Century Dictionary. W.R. Chambers, Ltd. London.
• 3Hart, B.L., Hart, L.A., McCoy, M., and Sarath, C.R. 2001. Cognitive behaviour in Asian elephants use and modification of branches for fly switching. Animal Behaviour 62: 839–847.
• 4Plotnik, J.M., deWaal, F.B.M. and Reiss, D. 2006. ‘Self-recognition in an Asian elephant’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103: 17053–7.
• 5Hakeem, A. Y., Hof, P. R., Sherwood, C. C., Switzer, R.C., Rasmussen, L. E. L. and Allman, J. A. 2005. Brain of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana): neuroanatomy from magnetic resonance images. The Anatomical Record 287A: 1117–1127.
• 6Bates, L.A., Sayialel, K., Njiraini, N., Poole, J.H. Moss, C.J., and Byrne, R.W. 2007. Elephants have expectations about the locations of out of- sight family members. Biological Letters 4: 34–36.
• 7Bates, L.A., Sayialel, K.N., Njiraini, N.W., Poole, J.H., Moss, C.J., and Byrne, R.W. 2007. Elephants classify human ethnic groups by odour and garment colour. Current Biology. 17: 1938–1942.
• 8Burke, T. 2005. The effect of human disturbance on elephant behaviour, movement dynamics and stress in a small reserve: Pilansberg National Park. MSc thesis, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban.
• 9Viljoen, J.J., Ganswindt, A., du Toit, J.T. and Langbauer, W.R. 2008. Translocation stress and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in free-ranging African savanna elephants. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 38 (2): 146-152.
• 10Douglas-Hamilton, I., Bhalla, S., Wittemyer, G. and Vollrath, F. 2006. ‘Behavioural reactions of elephants towards a dying and deceased matriarch’, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 100 (1–2): 87–102.
• 11McComb, K., Baker, L., and Moss, C. 2006. African elephants show high levels of interest in the skulls and ivory of their own species. Biological Letters 2: 26–28.
• 12McComb, K., Moss, C., Durant, S.M., Baker, L., and Sayialel, S. 2001. Matriarchs as repositories of social knowledge in African elephants. Science 292: 491–494.
• 13Bates, L.A., Poole, J.H., and Byrne, R.W. 2008. Elephant cognition. Current Biology 18: R544-R546.
• 14Bates, L.A., Lee, P.C., Njiraini, N., Poole, J.H., Sayialel, K., Sayialel, S., Moss C.J. and Byrne, R.W. 2008. Do elephants show empathy? Journal of Consciousness Studies, 15: 204–25.

[Lisbeth]

Elephant destroys vehicle with tourist in Maputo Game Reserve

2016-07-05 13:30 - Louzel Lombard



Cape Town - Video footage and photographs showing a massive elephant charging and rolling a vehicle in Maputo Game Reserve in Mozambique has gone viral on social media.

The video shows the elephant from afar first, as it starts running towards the foreigners in a double-cab bakkie. Then, as the elephant reaches the vehicle, things take a turn for the worst. The foreigner in the car can be heard saying "Ai jai jai" before his bakkie is rolled by the elephant.

The footage was first uploaded to Facebook by Rudie Swanepoel on Monday, 4 July. Swanepoel shared the video and photos with the caption, "Not to be taken lightly….ever!!"

It has since been shared more than 230 times.

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Photos after the incident show the bakkie with broken windows, full of dents and dirt. A piece of the elephant's tusk also broke off during the skirmish, and now serves a scary souvenir of how close the driver of the vehicle came to being trampled by the elephant completely.

The driver survived the attack, but it is unknown what the extent of his injuries are.

(I just saw now that it happened three years ago Newspapers )

[Alf]

Once again the elephant did warn him to back off but did he listen

[Lisbeth]

There is too much talk about the "Gentle Giant" and people do not understand that it's a wild animal which is only obeying the rules of his/her instinct.

[Richprins]