Male Elephants Need Role Models, Too

African Bull Elephant. Esin Üstün, via Flickr. Distributed under a CC BY 2.0 license.

Decades of research have emphasized the importance of matriarchs in leading elephant herds. A herd, made up of related female elephants and their offspring, depends on the matriarch for guidance and leadership as they travel to find food and water, avoid danger, and bring up babies.

But much less research has investigated the relationships and connections that occur between unrelated male elephants in so-called “bull areas.” According to a new study, the presence of older male elephants within a bull area decreases the likelihood of aggression by other males. The finding could have implications for elephant conservation efforts and human-elephant conflicts.

Read more at my Animal Minds blog: In the Presence of Older Bulls, Male Elephants are Less Aggressive.