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African elephants (Loxodonta africana) exhibit a long developmental period during which they acquire complex social and ecological knowledge through social networks. Central to this is that matriarchs and older individuals play an important role as repositories of information gained through experience. Anthropogenic interventions—including poaching, culling, translocation, and hunting—can disrupt elephants’ social networks, with implications for individual fitness and potential long-term population viability. Here, we draw on a unique long-running, individual-based dataset to examine the impacts of translocation on a population of elephants in South Africa, taking into consideration demographic rates, social dynamics, and ecological decision-making. Specifically, we compared two translocated groups: a group of unrelated culling Orphans and a family herd. We found that the Orphan group experienced accelerated reproductive rates when compared with the family herd. The Orphan group also fissioned more frequently and for longer periods of time, suggesting lower cohesiveness, and were less decisive in their large-scale movement decisions. These results add to the growing body of literature on the downstream impacts of social disruption for elephants. Whilst the translocation of culling Orphans is no longer practised in South Africa, we encourage careful consideration of any elephant translocation and the resulting social disruption.

Human–elephant conflict is increasing across many parts of Asia and Africa. Mitigating elephant crop raiding has become a major focus of conservation intervention, however, many existing methods for tackling this problem are expensive and difficult to execute. Thus, there is a need for more affordable, farm-based methods. Testing these methods is key to ensuring their effectiveness and feasibility. In this study, we tested a novel olfactory deterrent, the “smelly elephant repellent”, a foul-smelling organic liquid, on 40 farms in Uganda and Kenya. Our results show that the repellent was effective at deterring elephants from crop raiding. Over the study period, 82% of 309 elephant crop raids were deterred in Uganda. In Kenya, the repellent deterred 63% of 24 crop raiding incidents, and there was a significant effect of the repellent on test sites compared with control sites. The smelly repellent could be a helpful crop raiding mitigation tool for farmers, as this study showed it to be effective, relatively cheap, quick to produce from locally available ingredients, and communities have a positive attitude towards using it. Ongoing work is exploring the potential for a market-based approach to take this to scale in a financially sustainable way.

Background Bovine tuberculosis and tuberculosis are chronic infectious diseases caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex members, Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, respectively. Infection with M. bovis and M. tuberculosis have significant implications for wildlife species management, public health, veterinary disease control, and conservation endeavours. Results Here we describe the first use of the VetMAX™ Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) DNA quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) detection kit for African wildlife samples. DNA was extracted from tissues harvested from 48 African buffaloes and MTBC DNA was detected (test-positive) in all 26 M. bovis culture-confirmed animals with an additional 12 PCR-positive results in culture-negative buffaloes (originating from an exposed population). Of six MTBC-infected African rhinoceros tested, MTBC DNA was detected in antemortem and postmortem samples from five animals. The PCR was also able to detect MTBC DNA in samples from two African elephants confirmed to have M. bovis and M. tuberculosis infections (one each). Culture-confirmed uninfected rhinoceros and elephants’ samples tested negative in the PCR assay. Conclusions These results suggest this new detection kit is a sensitive screening test for the detection of MTBC-infected African buffaloes, African elephants and white rhinoceros.

While spontaneous yawning is common across all vertebrate classes, contagious yawning is less common and has been observed only in a few species of social animals. Interspecific contagious yawning in response to yawning by humans has been observed only by chimpanzees and dogs. After confirming additional occurrences of intraspecific contagious yawning in a group of captive African elephants previously studied, we further investigated the potential for the same group of elephants to engage in interspecific contagious yawning with familiar human handlers. Ten captive African elephants, most of whom had been previously studied, were observed over 13 nights for evidence of intraspecific contagious yawning. Seven of these elephants were also involved in trials where familiar handlers performed staged yawns, as well as trials with staged non-yawning gapes, or trials with no yawns or gapes. Incorporating previously collected contagious yawning data, we describe nine instances of intraspecific contagious yawning in the elephants. Three of the seven elephants yawned contagiously in response to humans during the interspecific yawning trials. This is the first report of interspecific contagious yawning by elephants in response to yawns by familiar humans.

Until Africa was colonised, there was a general consensus that the Indian elephants of Antiochus III, which defeated Ptolemy IV’s Libyan ones in the battle of Raphia (217 B.C.) as described by Polybius, were far greater in size. Livy confirms this in his account of the battle of Magnesia (190 B.C.). Despite this, the use of the word suggests a different meaning than magnitude, and so Polybius did not make a mistake, as suspected, after all. Whilst the Roman historian refers to the great individual size of each species of elephant, the Greek is referring to the scale of the elephantry itself. The key to this interpretation lies in the dou-ble value of the unmarked term in the privative opposition between magnitu-do and multitudo. The first two terms represent, in addition to individual size specifically, the generic concept of magnitude. Hasta la colonización de África, ha estado vigente la opinión de que los elefantes indios de Antíoco III, que derrotaron a los libios de Ptolomeo IV en la batalla de Rafia (217 a. C.) descrita por Polibio, eran de tamaño superior. Tito Livio lo confirma a propósito de la batalla de Magnesia (190 a. C.). Sin embargo, el empleo de μέγεθος sugiere un significado diferente de magnitudo, de manera que el error atribuido a Polibio no es tal. Mientras el historiador romano se atiene a la idea de la corpulencia individual de una y otra especie de elefantes, el griego tiene en cuenta la magnitud del conjunto de la unidad táctica. La clave interpretativa está en el doble valor del término no marcado de la oposición privativa que forman μέγεθος y πλῆθος, magnitudo y multitudo; pues los dos primeros vocablos representan, además del tamaño individual específico, el concepto genérico de magnitud.

While spontaneous yawning is common across all vertebrate classes, contagious yawning is less common and has been observed only in a few species of social animals. Interspecific contagious yawning in response to yawning by humans has been observed only by chimpanzees and dogs. After confirming additional occurrences of intraspecific contagious yawning in a group of captive African elephants previously studied, we further investigated the potential for the same group of elephants to engage in interspecific contagious yawning with familiar human handlers. Ten captive African elephants, most of whom had been previously studied, were observed over 13 nights for evidence of intraspecific contagious yawning. Seven of these elephants were also involved in trials where familiar handlers performed staged yawns, as well as trials with staged non-yawning gapes, or trials with no yawns or gapes. Incorporating previously collected contagious yawning data, we describe nine instances of intraspecific contagious yawning in the elephants. Three of the seven elephants yawned contagiously in response to humans during the interspecific yawning trials. This is the first report of interspecific contagious yawning by elephants in response to yawns by familiar humans.

Background: Androgen-related aggressive behaviour and musth cause serious problems in captive African elephant bulls and often lead to human and animal injuries, and damage to property. Objectives: To review the work carried out with anti-gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccines to control androgen-related behaviour and fertility in captive and free-ranging elephant bulls and the induction of anoestrus in elephant cows. Method: In the first study, an anti-GnRH vaccine from Pepscan was tested in six bulls (four captive and two free-ranging). Once the vaccine Improvac ® became available, the effect on behaviour, the reproductive organs and semen quality was tested. Improvac ® was also used to attempt induction of anoestrus in elephant cows. Results: The first study proved that aggressive behaviours are significantly associated with increased faecal androgen concentrations. Musth ( n = 1) and aggressive behaviour ( n = 2) were down regulated and correlated with a decline in faecal androgen concentrations. Aggression and musth could be controlled with Improvac ® (600 µg), but were more consistent when the dose was increased to 1000 µg administered every five to six months. The same dose down regulated testicular function and bulls ( n = 17) were rendered infertile within 12 months after commencement of treatment. Initial attempts to induce anoestrous with 600 µg in free-ranging elephant cows gave inconclusive results, but 1000 µg in captive cows delivered five-monthly was successful. Conclusion: The treatment of elephant bulls with Improvac ® resulted in the successful down-regulation of androgen-related behaviour and sperm production in captive and wild elephant bulls of various ages (≤ 34 years). Preliminary studies to induce anoestrus in cows with Improvac ® appear to be successful.

Sperm whales have a multi-level social structure based upon long-term, cooperative social units. What role kinship plays in structuring this society is poorly understood. We combined extensive association data (518 days, during 2005–2016) and genetic data (18 microsatellites and 346 bp mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences) for 65 individuals from 12 social units from the Eastern Caribbean to examine patterns of kinship and social behaviour. Social units were clearly matrilineally based, evidenced by greater relatedness within social units (meanr= 0.14) than between them (meanr= 0.00) and uniform mtDNA haplotypes within social units. Additionally, most individuals (82.5%) had a first-degree relative in their social unit, while we found no first-degree relatives between social units. Generally and within social units, individuals associated more with their closer relatives (matrix correlations: 0.18–0.25). However, excepting a highly related pair of social units that merged over the study period, associations between social units were not correlated with kinship (p> 0.1). These results are the first to robustly demonstrate kinship's contribution to social unit composition and association preferences, though they also reveal variability in association preferences that is unexplained by kinship. Comparisons with other matrilineal species highlight the range of possible matrilineal societies and how they can vary between and even within species.

Simple Summary Managing captive elephants poses a significant challenge because of their complex social behaviour. While wild female elephants live in close-knit family groups of related individuals, captive herds often consist of unrelated animals. Some of the elephants in captive groups may be excluded by their companions and experience increased aggression, so that their welfare is compromised. There is no easy solution to this problem and novel approaches are required since slaughter of captive elephants is not publicly acceptable. We show that captive-raised female elephants can be released into the wild, survive and reproduce, and suggest that this management option should be explored further for female elephants currently held under various captive conditions. Abstract Wild female elephants live in close-knit matrilineal groups and housing captive elephants in artificial social groupings can cause significant welfare issues for individuals not accepted by other group members. We document the release of a captive-raised female elephant used in the safari industry because of welfare and management problems. She was fitted with a satellite collar, and spatial and behavioural data were collected over a 17-month period to quantify her interactions with the wild population. She was then monitored infrequently for a further five-and-a-half years. We observed few signs of aggression towards her from the wild elephants with which she socialized. She used an area of comparable size to wild female elephants, and this continued to increase as she explored new areas. Although she did not fully integrate into a wild herd, she had three calves of her own, and formed a social unit with another female and her calf that were later released from the same captive herd. We recommend that release to the wild be considered as a management option for other captive female elephants.

During the past several years, non-invasive monitoring of steroid metabolites in faeces of elephants has become an increasingly popular technique to generate more information about the causal relationship between hormones and behaviour in both living elephant species. This is important knowledge which can be used to optimise local conservation and wildlife management by finding new strategies for better elephant population management and control. In this context, however, information about an actual involvement of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis during assumable stressful events is still limited, especially for wildlife populations. One difficulty in discovering such information is often the lack of reliable data for hormone baseline levels. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine baseline concentrations of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites that could be expected within age classes and between seasons in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Kruger National Park (KNP ). A total of 374 faecal samples were collected from randomly located family herds in the southern KNP between May 2002 and August 2005. The samples were analysed for immunoreactive concentrations of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites using a validated enzyme immunoassay for 3α,11oxo-cortisol metabolites(3α,11oxo-CM). All samples were grouped according to the estimated age class of the subject using a field method based on bolus diameter, and regarding the ecological season collected. No significant differences in faecal 3α,11oxo-CM concentrations were found across age classes (H3 = 7.54; p = 0.057), but the mean 3α,11oxo-CM concentration of samples collected in the dry season (n = 196) was significantly higher than in the wet season (n = 178) (u = 15206.50; p = 0.032), which indicates a possible physiological stress situation due to a decline in food quantity and quality. The information generated in this study represents a reliable data set for baseline concentrations of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites for elephants within the KNP and can be used to measure the stressrelated effects of translocations, management actions and the impact of chosen land use activities.