Gu₿i on Nostr: This is what an elephant herd is supposed to look like. Elephant herds once numbered ...
This is what an elephant herd is supposed to look like. Elephant herds once numbered in the thousands, such as the one captured in this image in Tsavo, Kenya, in the 1950s. These once-large herds have been drastically reduced and today's elephant herds usually consist of no more than 8 to 100 elephants, the most numerous. This is a far cry from the numbers of yesteryear.
Elephants represent a fairly social species where the family fabric is well defined among the females and calves that make up the herd. In these groups, normally made up of around 20 individuals depending on the availability of food, there is a close relationship between the females and their offspring, as well as between the young elephants in the care of the younger ones, as a way of preparing them for the challenge of motherhood.
Thus, the elephant herd is led by a matriarch, the eldest of all the females, and becomes a group where there is no room for males unless there is a female elephant in heat. After courtship, which can last up to four days, and the female becomes pregnant, the male returns to his solitary life.
As previously mentioned, the size of the herd is variable and does not allow adult males in the group, so when they reach adolescence, from eight to 17 years of age, they leave the family bosom to form a herd of solitary males with an unstable structure. Before this time, the young males participate in family events, although less actively than the females, who stand out in the care of the young, acting as a kind of babysitter.
Adolescence is an important stage in the life of a male elephant. It is the time when they begin to distance themselves from their mothers and to interact with other males, as well as to learn the rules of life outside the herd and the ways of acting sexually.
Generally, the relationship between males is distant, but this does not mean that they do not interact with each other.
Herds can be large and then split into small units. However, unlike other species, elephants do not forget the kinship that unites them and often celebrate joyfully when they find themselves in places where there is food or water. However, it is possible to identify who is part of which herd by the way they will communicate with each other.
Touch, visual and audible signals are the ways in which elephants communicate. Elephants are said to be able to hear the sounds of other elephants at a long distance, which often helps them to know when danger is imminent.
Interestingly, however, many of the sounds elephants make are not audible because they occur at frequencies between 14 and 35 Hz.
Touch is also one of the ways elephants communicate, so it is not difficult to see female elephants and their calves touching each other all the time.
Photo Peter Beard
Elephants represent a fairly social species where the family fabric is well defined among the females and calves that make up the herd. In these groups, normally made up of around 20 individuals depending on the availability of food, there is a close relationship between the females and their offspring, as well as between the young elephants in the care of the younger ones, as a way of preparing them for the challenge of motherhood.
Thus, the elephant herd is led by a matriarch, the eldest of all the females, and becomes a group where there is no room for males unless there is a female elephant in heat. After courtship, which can last up to four days, and the female becomes pregnant, the male returns to his solitary life.
As previously mentioned, the size of the herd is variable and does not allow adult males in the group, so when they reach adolescence, from eight to 17 years of age, they leave the family bosom to form a herd of solitary males with an unstable structure. Before this time, the young males participate in family events, although less actively than the females, who stand out in the care of the young, acting as a kind of babysitter.
Adolescence is an important stage in the life of a male elephant. It is the time when they begin to distance themselves from their mothers and to interact with other males, as well as to learn the rules of life outside the herd and the ways of acting sexually.
Generally, the relationship between males is distant, but this does not mean that they do not interact with each other.
Herds can be large and then split into small units. However, unlike other species, elephants do not forget the kinship that unites them and often celebrate joyfully when they find themselves in places where there is food or water. However, it is possible to identify who is part of which herd by the way they will communicate with each other.
Touch, visual and audible signals are the ways in which elephants communicate. Elephants are said to be able to hear the sounds of other elephants at a long distance, which often helps them to know when danger is imminent.
Interestingly, however, many of the sounds elephants make are not audible because they occur at frequencies between 14 and 35 Hz.
Touch is also one of the ways elephants communicate, so it is not difficult to see female elephants and their calves touching each other all the time.
Photo Peter Beard