Scientist at Work Blog: Elephant Teenagers, Testing Boundaries

Caitlin O?Connell-Rodwell, who teaches at the Stanford University School of Medicine, writes from Etosha National Park in Namibia, where she is studying elephant societies.

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Friday, July 20

It always surprises me that female elephants can be so aggressive with one another. It?s every family for itself when it comes to securing a rare resource. Even within the family, it?s every mother pitted against another for access to fresh water, with Wynona always getting the short end of the stick. And as far as I witnessed today, the teenage boys are getting the best stuff, while their mothers are sidelined. And this is supposed to be a matriarchal society? Not so when the elephantine apron strings have yet to be severed with young males that are about to join the lost boys in search of manhood. It?s no wonder that those young males are all full of tusk marks from motherly objections, but haven?t managed to fly the coop.

When I say lost boys, I?m referring to those who have recently left their families and are in desperate need of companionship in the world of adult male elephants. It?s understandable that there is some hesitation to make the leap. As ranking goes in the region, it?s clear that Wynona?s family doesn?t have very high status, given how easily its members are pushed away from a desperately needed drink by other families. I can?t help but wonder if status of family will affect these coming-of-age bulls? social interactions and ranking later in life.

The wind is starting to pick up, making the sky white with the dust of Etosha Pan. Large dust devils whirl around camp ? elephant dung and dry yellow grass caught up in little twisters as they hiss past the tower. The sizes of the quelea flocks grow, their flight patterns so similar to the ebb and flow of a school of anchovies, their soaring, bursting, and undulating lending the sense that our humble tower is a Jules Verne-esque submersible within the great inland sea of Etosha. Smokey?s appearance on the horizon only adds to this nautical sensation: His trunk, sweeping from side to side, looks like the appendage of a giant sea monster, one enormous tentacle clearing the way for this kingly beast as he prances in on the tide.

As the season progresses, so does the intensity of Smokey?s search for estrous females. He came in the other day and barely had a sip of water before he was off again, following the scent trail from a family that had come the previous night. His return later in the afternoon added to the family drama at the waterhole just after the Warrior clan, led by Left Tusker, arrived in a tidal wave that scattered the Actors (Wynona and company) far from the water.

As we document family rankings, the situation with the males gets trickier to navigate, with new bulls coming in from the east, confusing the status quo. Yesterday we observed a long session with Luke, Kirk and Hardy Boy, when the two Kameeldoring residents, Rowly and Pumba Jr., came in to upset the balance of power. Pumba bullied Luke into relinquishing the head of the trough, but Luke wouldn?t give up that easily. He stood off the head of the trough and flexed his penis as if shaking a fist at Pumba, an altercation that started as a smolder and ended with Luke retaking his position.

In the heat of the day, three boys from Kameeldoring, led by Brendan, joined us today from the east, giving us the opportunity to photograph their ear and tail characteristics. I normally see them only at night, and only on nights when Greg and the Boys? Club aren?t around. But this year we?ve seen more Kameeldoring boys than usual, perhaps because of the unusually dry environment, but also perhaps because Greg has not showed up to stake his claim over Mushara. I had first documented a small bonded group of four from Kameeldoring in 2006 and recorded an amazing series of ?let?s go? vocal volleys among them at night. Now the three are rumbling as they leave, but it?s too windy and noisy out there to get a good recording. I?d have to catch them again at night.

Just after they left, we were inundated with smaller factions of the Boys? Club coming in from every direction, all negotiating life in the absence of their don (we are still hoping this is a temporary absence). Musthy Mike joined in as well, and without females to compete over, he was more intent on drinking with the club and showing some sweetness to the younger elephants, gently sparring with them and allowing them to inspect his mysteriously musthy ways.

As with any male, in elephants adolescence is a period of questioning boundaries and searching for mentors. Right now, the juniors seem particularly needy. There are many new recruits, most likely because of the high birthrate this year after several good years of rain. Mike is one of those wonderful mentors who fills the gaps, even while in musth. If only he were interested in politics, he?d be an ideal candidate for don, having once been the second-ranking bull in the Boys? Club. If it weren?t for the pesky third-ranking Kevin nipping at Mike?s status at every turn, he might still have that position. Instead, it was filled by Abe, who also has to contend with Kevin, but until now has always had Greg to defend him.

It?s interesting in nature to see revered characters within dominance hierarchies that are so mild-mannered that they don?t hold a top position, seemingly out of a pure lack of interest in power. This situation has been described in several long-term studies of primates. Mike certainly falls in this category, which could be the reason neither he nor Abe would step up to the plate. This also explains why it seems that Prince Charles is climbing the ladder of power, as he has no problem engaging in a serious scrap to make a statement. He might rise further if his elders could forget his brutish past. But as far as I can tell, he may not be that fortunate. If only Greg would return to settle the score.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=4d4f1f2ab655c13081b026e52a62051e

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