Elephant Social Units, Reproduction & Memory Elephants have excellent memories and are well known for their complex societies, family bonds and wide network of friendships. Social units are important as elephants depend on one another for protection and survival.
Social Units Female Society/Cows The basic family unit in a herd of elephants consists of a matriarch and all her female relatives (sisters, aunts and cousins) and their dependent offspring, totalling anywhere between 6 and 20 members.
Also known as bulls, male elephants reach maturity at about 10 to 13 years and soon after wander off from their family, where they often seek to befriend and join older herds of bachelor males.
Female elephants generally stay with their families for life, but this isn’t the case for males.
Male elephants grow in height and weight during their teen years and continue growing through most of their adult lives. Older males are larger and generally dominant to younger males.
Due to the high level of responsibility it takes to raise each calf, older females ensure that every young elephant is raised with the utmost love, guidance, protection, support and care. Occasionally, elephant mothers nurse calves that aren’t theirs. For instance, grandmothers may nurse their grandchildren to help their daughters.
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Male Society/Bulls
Males have strict dominance hierarchies determined by each individuals physical strength, size and weight. See ‘Introduction to Elephants’ document for physical differences between male and female elephants.