The Surprising Thing People Can Learn From Baby Elephants
Elephants are exceedingly complex animals, and now researchers have discovered something that humans can learn from baby elephants.
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Science and researchers have become more and more enlightened on the sophisticated and complex social relationships between elephants. Riveting documentaries have brought to life the heartbreaking moments following the death of a family member within an elephant herd. A good example can be found while watching The Elephant Queen. The elephant mom’s grief that the audience witnesses following the death of her calf is palpable and deeply affecting. The evidently heightened levels of emotional intelligence that elephants possess is something that humans can not only relate to but also learn from. New research reported by the BBC shows how baby elephants who have been orphaned can greatly benefit from the support of their peers.
The study, published in Communications Biology, focused on levels of stress hormones found in orphaned baby elephants. Throughout their investigation, researchers were able to measure stress hormones in baby elephants found in different circumstances. What the scientists found was that elephants who had been orphaned, but who were surrounded by a group of supportive peers had far lowers levels of apparent hormones than baby elephants who were not surrounded by their peers. Humans, too, seek comfort and advice from peers in times of distress.
The study also revealed some other unique observations about the social behaviors and inclinations of elephants. Lead researcher Jenna Parker, an ecologist from Colorado State University, said that baby elephants have such tight bonds with their moms that they would seldom be found more than 10 meters away at any given time until they are nearly a decade old. And, in general, close and caring bonds can be identified throughout the herd. Parker said that like in a tight-knit human family everybody keeps a close eye on each other. “And if some of the elephants [in a group] go off, you’ll hear them calling to one another. They want to know where each other are all the time,” detailed Parker.
It’s astoundingly evident that elephants are magnificent and profoundly evolved animals. The aforementioned study is certainly a testament to that. Unfortunately, what motivated the study to occur is deeply saddening. Despite restrictions, laws, and regulations, elephants are still being poached for their ivory tusks. Thus, more and more baby elephants are being orphaned at the hands of greedy ill-abiding poachers. This disturbing trend is what prompted researchers to study the effects that losing a mom has on a baby elephant.
If there is a silver-lining there, though, it’s that researchers have been able to garner further insight into the social relationships between elephants, and have found that elephants, perhaps both because of and in spite of their social bonds, are exceedingly resilient animals. Overall, the valuable and enlightening information to come out of the study further highlights the splendor that exists so fluidly in the natural world that exists around us. And hopefully, studies like this will inspire further generations to want to protect that uniquely profound beauty. “I just think it’s really cool that such a social animal has evolved so separately from humans, and that we still seem to converge on how important social ties are,” Parker relayed in awe.
