New Study: Elephant Groups Do Not Slow Down for Parents Who Have Recently Given Birth

Usually, mammals only care for their offspring until they are old enough to fend for themselves; after that, moms and youngsters split.

Elephant researchers believed that the variety and depth of these creatures' emotional responses mirror those of humans more than those of other animals, as seen by the profound, loving ties formed between a mother elephant and her child.

Mother elephants and their daughters are typically raised in a matriarch-led herd until death separates them.

Meanwhile, sons ultimately set out on their own. 

Elephants have no rest after giving birth

(Photo : MICHELE SPATARI/AFP via Getty Images)

According to a new study by an international team led by experts from the University of Oxford in conjunction with Save the Elephants, elephant herds do not slow down for moms who have recently given birth.

The key is in the 22-month gestation period, during which adult baby elephants emerge from the womb and can keep up with the family from the day they are born.

The findings, published today in Animal Behaviour, demonstrated that the mother's average daily speed did not alter considerably during pregnancy, birth, or when traveling with a newborn calf, except for a tiny fall in daily speed on the day of delivery.

The speed the day before and the day after the elephant gave birth were identical to the yearly average speed, as per ScienceDaily.

The findings are described as "amazing" by researchers from the University of Oxford, who performed the study in partnership with Save the Elephants.

Elephants live in herds that are tightly knit and directed by females (matriarchy). Other elephants (typically aunts) assist the mother in rearing and protecting the calves.

Various elephants in a herd, however, might be pregnant and give birth at different periods.

Because of this asynchrony, elephants must balance the wants and pressures of individuals in the herd.

Save the Elephants placed GPS monitoring collars on pregnant elephants to see how these factors impact a herd's movements.

The tracking device developed by Save the Elephants is a crucial tool for monitoring elephant activity and behavior and operates similarly to a wristwatch tracking a walk or run.

The size and look of newborn elephants were used to assess their age.

Also Read: China's Wandering Herd of Wild Elephants Finally Home After Traveling for 17 Months

The Tender loving care of elephants

The herd stops for a few days to allow the baby a chance to gain strength, but elephants require a lot of food and must keep traveling to find enough, as per Animals Mom.

The infant walks underneath his mother, who seldom loses personal touch with him, helping him to his feet if he stumbles, lifting and carrying him over obstacles, and bringing him back if he wanders off.

If the newborn squeals, the entire herd will come to his rescue, not just the mother.

Martyn Colbeck chronicled the eventually futile attempts of a mother elephant whose calf had been born prematurely to bring her infant around in a tragic video for the PBS series "Nature."

The reaction of calves to the deaths of their mothers

Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has already been dealing with orphan elephants in Kenya's Tsavo National Park for more than five decades.

According to Dame Sheldrick, the elephant is not just the biggest terrestrial animal on the planet, but also the most emotionally human.

Elephant babies whose mothers have perished, generally at the hands of thieves, are infamously impossible to prepare for.

After 28 months of research, Dame Sheldrick discovered a formula that appeared to offer an acceptable mix of nutrients to milk-dependent orphans.

The constant focus after that is to treat the calf's life-threatening mental trauma induced by removal from its mother, frequently after watching her being hacked to death.

Related article: Understanding an Elephant's Playful Side