A Snapshot into the Lives of Elephants: Camera Traps and Conservation in Etosha National Park, Namibia

Berezin, Jodie L.; Odom, Amanda J.; Hayssen, Virginia; O’Connell-Rodwell, Caitlin E.

doi:10.3390/d15111146

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of vocal coordination in male African elephant group departures: evidence of active leadership and consensus

O’Connell-Rodwell,

Berezin,

Pignatelli

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Group-living animals engage in coordinated vocalizations to depart from a location as a group, and often, to come to a consensus about the direction of movement. Here, we document for the first time, the use of coordinated vocalizations, the “let’s go” rumble, in wild male African elephant group departures from a waterhole. We recorded vocalizations and collected behavioral data as known individuals engaged in these vocal bouts during June-July field seasons in 2005, 2007, 2011, and 2017 at Mushara waterhole within Etosha National Park, Namibia. During departure events, we documented which individuals were involved in the calls, the signature structure of each individual’s calls, as well as the ordering of callers, the social status of the callers, and those who initiated departure. The “let’s go” rumble was previously described in tight-knit family groups to keep the family together during coordinated departures. Male elephants are described as living in loose social groups, making this finding particularly striking. We found that this vocal coordination occurs in groups of closely associated, highly bonded individuals and rarely occurs between looser associates. The three individuals most likely to initiate the “let’s go” rumble bouts were all highly socially integrated, and one of these individuals was also the most dominant overall. This suggests that more socially integrated individuals might be more likely to initiate, or lead, a close group of associates in the context of leaving the waterhole, just as a dominant female would do in a family group. The fact that many individuals were often involved in the vocal bouts, and that departure periods could be shorter, longer, or the same amount of time as pre-departure periods, all suggest that there is consensus with regard to the act of leaving, even though the event was triggered by a lead individual.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of vocal coordination in male African elephant group departures: evidence of active leadership and consensus

O’Connell-Rodwell,

Berezin,

Pignatelli

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…The waterhole is fed by a permanent, artisanal spring, and is the only stable source of water within 10 km 2 , making it an important resource during the dry season. For additional details about the field site, see recent publications ( Berezin et al, 2023 ; O’Connell-Rodwell et al, 2022a ; O’Connell-Rodwell et al, 2022 ). Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, permit codes: #877/2005 for 1 February 2005 to 31 January 2006; #1141/2007 for 7 March 2007 to 28 February 2008; #1489/2011 for 12 June 2011 to 30 May 2012; #2188/2016 for 1 June 2016 to 30 June 2017.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of vocal coordination in male African elephant group departures: evidence of active leadership and consensus

O’Connell-Rodwell,

Berezin,

Pignatelli

et al. 2024

PeerJ

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Group-living animals engage in coordinated vocalizations to depart from a location as a group, and often, to come to a consensus about the direction of movement. Here, we document for the first time, the use of coordinated vocalizations, the “let’s go” rumble, in wild male African elephant group departures from a waterhole. We recorded vocalizations and collected behavioral data as known individuals engaged in these vocal bouts during June-July field seasons in 2005, 2007, 2011, and 2017 at Mushara waterhole within Etosha National Park, Namibia. During departure events, we documented which individuals were involved in the calls, the signature structure of each individual’s calls, as well as the ordering of callers, the social status of the callers, and those who initiated departure. The “let’s go” rumble was previously described in tight-knit family groups to keep the family together during coordinated departures. Male elephants are described as living in loose social groups, making this finding particularly striking. We found that this vocal coordination occurs in groups of closely associated, highly bonded individuals and rarely occurs between looser associates. The three individuals most likely to initiate the “let’s go” rumble bouts were all highly socially integrated, and one of these individuals was also the most dominant overall. This finding suggests that more socially integrated individuals might be more likely to initiate, or lead, a close group of associates in the context of leaving the waterhole, just as a high-ranking female would do in a family group. The fact that many individuals were involved in the vocal bouts, and that departure periods could be shorter, longer, or the same amount of time as pre-departure periods, all suggest that there is consensus with regard to the act of leaving, even though the event was triggered by a lead individual.

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“…Behavioral observations were collected from an 8-meter-tall research tower situated about 80 meters north of the waterhole with a 360-degree view of the clearing. Elephants enter the clearing from eight well-traveled paths from the brush and usually walk directly to the water trough or pan (see [32,33]). Water flows from the source of the spring into a trough, the head of which has the freshest water and is the preferred location to drink.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of male African elephant character durability across time and social contexts

O'Connell-Rodwell,

Berezin,

Kinzley

et al. 2024

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Post-dispersal male African elephants (Loxodonta africana) live within complex social networks. To quantify the durability of male elephant character (or personality) within these networks, we employed behavioral repeatability analysis tools across social and environmental contexts. We collected behavioral data from thirty-four individually-identified male elephants at the same waterhole over five field seasons (2007-2011) in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Using repeatability models to assess ten behavioral categories, we found five behaviors (affiliation, aggression, dominance, self-directed anxious, and self-directed comfort) that were consistent at the individual level. Interestingly, some of these behaviors were also significantly repeatable, depending on social context. In particular, the presence of younger males and a keystone male (i.e., the most dominant and socially-integrated individual during our study period) had the biggest impact on adult male behaviors. Surprisingly, the presence of elephants in musth had little impact. Finally, we found that younger individuals were more alike in their overall character profiles than older males, further supporting the hypothesis that male elephants develop unique, yet socially-flexible character types as they age. These results demonstrate that male elephants possess distinct character traits that are also behaviorally adaptable, depending on the social context. Overall, our research further uncovers the complexity of male elephant individuality and social dynamics that can be leveraged to improve in-situ and ex-situ management and conservation decisions for the species.

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A Snapshot into the Lives of Elephants: Camera Traps and Conservation in Etosha National Park, Namibia

Cited by 4 publications

References 41 publications

The use of vocal coordination in male African elephant group departures: evidence of active leadership and consensus

The use of vocal coordination in male African elephant group departures: evidence of active leadership and consensus

The use of vocal coordination in male African elephant group departures: evidence of active leadership and consensus

Dynamics of male African elephant character durability across time and social contexts

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