How Social Relationships Develop for an African Elephant Calf (Loxodonta Africana) Ex Situ

African elephants, Loxodonta africana, in situ live in extended family networks of two to twenty elephants (Wittemeyer & Getz, 2007). A typical group in this network, called a family unit  (Lee & Moss, 1999), includes genetically related adult females (over 15 years old), female adolescent females (5-15 years), and calves of both sexes (0-5 years). A matriarch  (dominant female) leads the family unit (Douglas-Hamilton, 1975). Initially, a calf spends most of its time with her mother, depending on her for care and protection, (Moss et al., 2011). As a calf matures, it spends less time with its mother and more time with other female elephants, called allomothers  (Lee, 1987). There is little research comparing the social relationships among ex situ elephant groups and in situ family units (Whilde & Marples, 2012). For three years, since her birth, I have recorded video of a female elephant calf (Kalina), her dam (Kubwa), the group's dominant elephant (Sophi), and another female adult elephant (Tombi) in a large enclosure. Kubwa, Sophi and Tombi constitute a stable group, having lived together for 25 years. I hypothesize that Kalina spent the majority of her time with her mother (Kubwa) during her first year of life, but by her third year of life she spent most of her time alone or with Sophi and Tombi. This developmental pattern is observed in situ (Moss et al., 2011).