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This week for EleFact Friday, we discuss how male African elephants display distinct personality traits, which become more pronounced as they get older. A study identified five types of behavior that differed across individuals and over time in varying degrees: affiliative (having a desire to create social bonds), aggressive, dominant, anxious, and calm. Researchers studied 34 adult male elephants between the dates of 2007 and 2011 and identified these characteristics by individual. 

In the wild, female elephants stay together in family groups for their entire lives. Males usually leave their mothers once they are old enough to care for themselves. They join together with other male elephants of different ages to create a looser, bachelor herd that tends to be governed by dominance. By studying the behavior of an entire group of bachelor elephants, the researchers noted that an elephant’s behavior, and the level that they display the identified characteristics, was influenced by the context of the social interaction. 

When older males interacted while younger elephants were present, they were more likely to use friendly and dominance behaviors. When a socially influential male was around, the other males were less friendly. The most socially influential and dominant males in the society showed aggressive and friendly behaviors at about the same frequency. What researchers found was that younger males were more similar to each other in temperament than older males, which suggests that an elephant’s personality traits begin to solidify as he ages. Males begin to demonstrate consistency over time, but also know how to adjust to social situations. The most successful elephants in the society were those who struck a balance between friendliness and aggression. For many of these reasons, the researchers determined that having mixed age groups within an elephant group was important to the collective wellbeing. 

This study could increase conservation decision making as these decisions and levels of personality traits can determine policies on management of captive elephants. In our case, we work with female Asian elephants, who we know have distinct personalities. This is the first study that indicates different personalities are present in the wild and they have social implications. For more information, you can read the article here:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241204145018.htm

P.S. This is a photo of Kuky, a female African elephant who lived at Buenos Aires Ecoparque. She was supposed to be moved to the sanctuary with Pupy, but she passed away in October. She is being remembered in this week’s International Candlelight Vigil for Elephants alongside Lady and many other elephants from around the world. This afternoon, Vigil4Elephants will be sharing on Facebook a video of followers’ vigils from around the world, and they will host a final video on Saturday, January 11th at 4 pm EST / 9 pm UTC. (Click here to visit their page.) Thank you to everyone who is taking part in this vigil and spending time thinking about the impact captivity has had on these lives.