Orphaned elephants suffer from long-term stress, but new research suggests that being with elephants of a similar age can reduce its effects.
A study conducted on African savanna elephants in Kenya has shown that social support plays a key role in alleviating the stress caused by losing their mothers.
Researchers from Colorado State University measured stress levels in these elephants by analyzing their dung.
They discovered that the company of peers of a similar age helps reduce stress, highlighting the importance of social bonds within elephant groups.
This effect is known as ‘social buffering,’ where supportive relationships help ease an individual’s stress response.
The findings support the theory that this social buffering is effective in wild elephants, according to the study published in the journal Communications Biology.
The authors noted, “Our observations highlight the importance of maintaining social bonds among elephants, as this could make orphaned individuals more resilient to stress.”
The research team collected data from 25 orphaned and 12 non-orphaned female elephants in Kenya’s Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves.
These elephants, ranging from 7 to 21 years old, lost their mothers between one and 19 years before the study, mostly due to poaching or drought between 2009 and 2014.
Some orphaned elephants left their original family group to join new ones, while others stayed within their family units.
Researchers tracked glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) in 496 dung samples between 2015 and 2016.
GCMs are stress-related hormones produced by the adrenal glands, and higher levels in the dung indicate greater stress.
Interestingly, the study found no significant difference in stress levels between orphans and non-orphans several years after the mother’s death.
However, orphans living in groups with more peers of a similar age had lower stress levels, suggesting that social support from age-matched companions helps reduce stress for all elephants.
Moreover, orphans who left their family group after their mother’s death had lower stress hormone levels compared to those who stayed with their family, possibly because of the body’s response to prolonged high stress.
These findings may have important implications for managing orphaned elephants in captivity. Providing them with companions of a similar age and maintaining bonded groups could help lower their stress.
Releasing these bonded groups back into the wild may improve their chances of adjusting to life outside captivity.
Sadly, African savanna elephants are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List, with populations in southern and eastern Africa facing increasing threats from poaching.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has raised concerns that even previously recovering populations are now at risk due to the illegal ivory trade.
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