rfmcdonald | [LINK] "Elephant Social Bonds Withstand the Ravages of Poaching" (Reply)

D-Brief notes a new study of elephants suggesting the resilience of their social bonds in the face of widespread hunting.

A young female elephant spends almost every minute of every day by her mother’s side. The deep mother-daughter bond is a reflection of the important role older matriarchs serve in elephants’ complex social networks. Elder females are the glue that keeps groups together.

But the passage of time yields longer tusks, which puts matriarchs square in poachers’ crosshairs, and the resurgent ivory trade has claimed the lives of countless elephant family leaders. But in the face of dramatic familial disruption, the daughters who spent their lives in their mother’s shadow step up and fill the void left behind by mom, a new study reveals. For elephants, it appears their social bonds are stronger than the ravages of poaching.

For nearly two decades, George Wittemyer has followed the same elephant families in northern Kenya’s Samburu and Buffalo Springs national reserves. He’s witnessed pachyderm groups soldier through adversity — from droughts to periods of heavy poaching. And from his extended research, he’s developed a deep appreciation for just how important elephant social networks are to their survival.

“Elephants are highly socially complex, and are probably among the most complex species next to ourselves,” Wittemyer says. “Their social structure is really critical…In some ways, their relationships are stronger than our own.”