ORPHANED ELEPHANTS

It is common knowledge these days that Elephants are poached for their ivory tusks.  This has been an ongoing problem for the Wildlife authorities as well as for the Elephants themselves.  Poachers choose the older elephants, as these are the ones that have the most developed tusks and of course, the largest; Ivory is sold by weight.

Elephants, similar to humans, form large extended families and live harmoniously together.  One can find families as large as 50 individuals moving together; the babies nestled against the older elephants.  In many cases, the mother of these babies has been killed by poachers for their tusks, and this causes a major reshaping of the family.  Usually, the young female elephants take over the role of the mother, leading the youngsters and adolescents; stepping into the role of the matriarch prematurely.  Many studies have been conducted to study closely the complex social ties within the Elephants’ family networks.

Young daughters, as in the case of humans, assume bigger roles in care taking as the social network of the family regroups.  This importance of collaboration and friendship amongst Elephants is considered to be the greatest example of such behavior outside the human system. 

Poaching has been taken seriously these past few years and fines have increased thousands of percent from years ago.  The collision between wildlife and people in East Africa has worsened with the increasing human spread of housing and agriculture, encroaching on the natural habitat of the elephants; it is a common scenario throughout Africa and one that is affording more attention to the problems of humans and elephants living near each other.



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