Rumble vocalizations mediate interpartner distance in African elephants, Loxodonta africana
The ability to utilize contact calls to facilitate reunions with social partners has been documented in a number of species showing a fission/fusion social organization. Field observations and playback experiments suggest that African elephants use low-frequency rumble vocalizations to reunite with their herd members following periods of fission. Using a digital audio and GPS recording […]
Elephant sociality and complexity: The scientific evidence
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Forest elephants: fission–fusion and social arenas
Fission–fusion systems provide models for studying grouping decisions and social complexity in a range of taxa, as individuals act to manage risks and enhance reproductive success. African savannah elephants, Loxodonta africana africana, live in a fluid society where individual relationships persist over decades and affect reproductive success. Social structures have yet to be fully characterized […]
Social networks, long-term associations and age-related sociability of wild giraffes
Long-term studies of sociality in wild animals are rare, despite being critical for determining the benefits of social relationships and testing how long such relationships last and whether they change as individuals age. Knowledge about social relationships in animal species that exhibit fission–fusion dynamics can enhance our understanding of the evolution of close social bonds […]
Social preference influences female community structure in a population of wild eastern grey kangaroos
Communities, clusters of individuals who interact socially primarily with each other, are fundamental elements of social structure in many species. Community membership can be influenced by spatial factors and by social preferences resulting from genetic or phenotypic assortment or shared behavioural strategies. Very little is known about community social structure in herbivorous mammals with higher […]