As we have learned, elephants roam in large herds and cover vast amounts of land. It is of no surprise then that they come across a wide variety of environmental obstacles. Whether it be an electrical fence put up by farmers or a specific type of vegetation these features offer a unique opportunity to study how elephants learn.
Learning is described as an enduring change in the mechanism of behavior, involving specific stimuli or responses, resulting from experience with those or similar stimuli or responses. There are various categories one can choose to look at while studying the capacity to learn in a given species but we will focus on social learning. Elephants are social creatures. When born, the calf is immediately dependent on its mother for survival. They suckle at the mother for milk up to a couple months of age until they are ready to start foraging for food. Young calfs have a tendency to pick up anything that might resemble food and put it into their mouth. Luckily during their suckling phase they were exposed to their peers who serve as a model to show them what is edible and what to avoid.
While elephants might venture out and eat on their own at an early age compared to some species, they are relatively slow to mature. The calves are dependent on their mothers until sexual maturity which isn't reached until pre-teen years. Sometimes they aren't weened until age 17 or later, when they finally accept their role as a leader of the heard. This close contact with their mothers provides them with instruction on the process of raising young. This instruction is aided by the chance to watch the mothers raise a younger sibling while the young elephants remain under their supervision.
Observational studies have shown that there is a higher success rate for calves born to more experienced, older mothers than those born to younger females. In some cases researchers have seen experienced mothers aid a young mother who is struggling to take care of her calf in order to perserve the life of her calf.
An interesting finding indicated that across the same species of elephants, different behavior patterns were observed. Elephants in areas that are subject to hunters show defensive attacks on livestock. This behavior is not present in elephants that occupy areas without a hunter presence. Additionally, elephants that have been introduced to wild herds after being bred in captivity exhibit violent behaviors uncharacteristic of the group until they have time to learn what is "socially acceptable."
The ability for elephants to learn from their parents and peer groups provides them with a necessary opportunity that contributes to survival. Without proper teaching and example, elephants have been known to exhibit maladaptive behaviors such a violence and aggression.
Sources:
http://elephant.elehost.com/About_Elephants/Life_Cycles/Adolescent/adolescent.html
http://www.elephantvoices.org/elephant-basics/elephants-learn-from-others.html
It is so interesting, and rather heartwarming, that older and wiser mothers aid younger mothers who need help with their young. This behavior also reminds me of humans, in that it is usually a better idea for women to wait until they are mature, responsible, and (more or less) wise before giving birth to children, because it is often hard for very young mothers to provide the full quality of care that the child needs. It is also interesting that elephants (again, like humans) must learn what is and what isn't sociably acceptable when they move to different herds.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tara's comment, I wonder how the elephants are when raised alone or if they survive? It is crazy how alike they are to humans. It was especially interesting to read that they stay close to their mothers till around 17, just like many teenagers do!
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