Elephants behaviour
- 1. Behavior of Elephants Presented by Asma Chaudhry
- 2. Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Proboscidea Family: Elephantidae Subfamily: Elephantinae
- 4. Terminologies • Male elephant: Bull • Female elephant: Cow • Baby elephant: Calf
- 5. Male elephants • Adult male elephants are solitary in nature but may associate with other bulls in small groups. • Males will leave the family unit (natal unit) between 12 and 15 years of age. • Bulls that associate in small groupings have a hierarchal-ranking social structure. • Leaders, determined by age and strength, protect the front and rear of the herd.
- 6. Continued… • Hierarchical roles are re- established and re-adjusted whenever a male leaves or enters the group. • More docile (quiet-natured) bulls do not seek leadership roles, but serve as stabilizing members within the group. • The bulls' nomadic (wandering) social system allows them to maximize reproductive potential. • A single bull can potentially find up to 30 mates in a year.
- 7. Female elephants • Female social structure is similar to concentric rings. • The innermost circle comprises a family unit of related adult cows (females). • Family units range in size from three to 25 individuals. • It includes the eldest, most dominant female called the matriarch, her adult daughters, and their calves, and a number of juveniles. • From this stable core, the groupings widen to include less familiar individuals.
- 8. Social behavior Dominance: the level of dominance is closely related to a bull's size, power, and weight. Bulls that are in musth are particularly dominant. Mourning: when elephants come across deceased remains of other elephants, a silent pause is taken, as the remains are touched with their trunks. Home range: Elephants are not territorial. The home range is between 10 and 70 km2 (four to 27 mi.2) and possibly larger, depending on herd size and seasonality.
- 9. Individual behavior Musth: Elephants have a musth gland located just beneath the skin's surface, halfway between the eye and ear, on each side of their head. Annually, musth glands secrete a dark, oily, musky substance and become inflamed. The musth period lasts between several days to several months. Male elephants first experience musth about three years after sexual maturity is reached. The musth secretion increases gradually until the bulls reach their 40's.
- 10. Continued… Female African elephants experience a much less intense form of musth. Musth has not been documented in Asian female elephants. Bulls in musth display a significant change in behavior and deep vocabulary of sounds, which signals strength and virility. Musth males may rub secretions onto trees to scent-mark their areas of dominance. Males in musth show extremely aggressive behavior.
- 11. Continued… Bathing/ Dusting: The trunks are used like a hose to spray water across the body. To help protect the skin from parasites and biting insects, elephants wallow in mud or spray dust on their wet skin. Sleeping: Elephants sleep about approximately four hours a night. About two hours of that are spent standing. During deep sleep, individuals lie on their sides, breathing noisily, and sometimes snoring.
- 12. Continued… Trials of strength: Young, strong bulls test strength by pushing over trees. Activity: Elephants are crepuscular in nature, primarily active at dawn and dusk (twilight hours) when the environment is cooler.
- 13. Reproduction Mating Season: Mostly during the rainy season. Gestation: 22 months. Litter size: 1 calf (twins rare). • After copulation the male African elephant stays near the female, guarding her, while she emits deep, low-frequency, rumbling noises that can be heard five miles away.
- 14. Continued… • Calves: Calves weigh between 200-250 lbs at birth. At birth, a calf's trunk has no muscle tone, therefore it will suckle through its mouth. It takes several months for a calf to gain full control of its trunk.
- 15. Encounter in wild • If you are inside a vehicle, and elephant is in front of you, then slowly move the vehicle in reverse direction. Do not blow horn. Try to be as calm as possible. • If you are on foot and you encounter an elephant , usually they don't bother if there is no baby in the herd. But if u have reached close to some baby then mother elephant will definitely chase you. Never try to climb on trees or running upwards on hill. Always run down on slope. Elephants , due to their huge weight have difficulty in running down slope.
- 16. Thankyou