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https://theconversation.com/female-elephants-rumble-to-say-lets-go-new-study-in-namibia-shows-males-do-too-a-sign-of-unexpected-social-bonds-236702>
"In elephant family groups made up of related females and their young, it is
clear that the animals produce vocal sounds to coordinate action. This happens
when it’s time to leave a waterhole, for example. The matriarch or dominant
female steps away from the waterhole and turns to the direction she intends to
move in. Then she flaps her ears as she makes a short call referred to as the
“let’s go” rumble.
What follows is a highly coordinated “conversation” of sorts. The female
elephants in the group add their own rumbles, each waiting for the previous
individual to finish what it has to say first.
Elephants coordinate action so that they can remain together (at least within
acoustic range), while moving to the next resource. It is safer for females and
their offspring to travel as a group to protect their young from potential
predation.
Male elephants also live in groups, often referred to as bachelor herds. But
it’s never been clear how they coordinate their actions. Previous research
using camera trap data seemed to show that subordinate males simply followed
older males to resources.
Ever since my husband and I worked for the Namibian government from 1992-1995,
we have been returning to Mushara waterhole to study the resident elephants.
Since 2004, I have brought a team of researchers to help me, and we have
returned every dry season to follow the lives of known individual elephants to
learn about their group dynamics, coordination and communication.
Our observations of a group of male elephants in Etosha showed that they use
the same vocal coordination as females to trigger the action of leaving the
waterhole. And the three elephants that most often initiated the “let’s go”
rumbles were highly socially integrated. One of them was the most dominant in
the group.
This active coordination of male movements, triggered by vocalisations, has
never been documented before. It was also surprising because previously it was
thought that male groups didn’t have tight social bonds.
Our findings suggest that male elephant society is much richer than previously
thought."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
