Monday, April 23, 2018

Wild elephant antics and broken tusks



Male elephants are solitary by nature, having been driven away from the rest of the herd when they reach puberty. This is called ‘natal dispersal’ and is a mechanism that has evolved over the millennia to avoid (a) inbreeding with relatives and (b) competition with kin. After that they lead a nomadic life, sometimes associating with other senior bull elephants ‘to learn the ropes’ of survival and eventually being ready to claim their own female for reproduction.

One reaching full maturity bull elephants, especially the Asian species, come into state called “musth”, in which their urge to mate goes into overdrive and they become very aggressive.

 To read the full article, click on the story title.

No comments: