Big Sisters Lead the Way: Allomothering in African Elephants

Research by Phyllis Lee (1999, 2011) has described the behavior of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves in the wild (in situ) and under human care (ex situ). A young calf spends a large proportion of its time near its mother, but also spends time with other elephants in the family unit, often referred to as allomothers.  Allomothers are elephants that assist in rearing a calf by providing comfort and safety regularly. The most common allomothers are young female relatives of the calf. This study focuses on how much time a female elephant calf interacts with her mother, her sister, and the matriarch of the group. I viewed and recorded interactions among the elephants in the main exhibit yard at the Indianapolis Zoo. I calculated the proportion of time during which the elephant calf interacted with each of the other elephants, using the criterion that the calf be within two (adult) body lengths of the other elephant. I will discuss how much time the elephant calf spent with the other three elephants and which animal in each dyad involving the calf was responsible for maintaining proximity. I will compare the social development of this calf with the typical pattern of social development reported for African elephant calves in situ.