How Elephants Keep Tabs on Family

By Helen Briggs

Science reporter, BBC News

Elephants keep track on up to 30 absent relatives by sniffing out their scent and building up a mental map of where they are, research suggests.

Herd members use their good memory and keen sense of smell to stay in touch as they travel in large groups, according to a study of wild elephants in Kenya.

The University of St Andrews studied 36 family groups of elephants living in Amboseli National Park.

The research is published in the Royal Society journal, Biology Letters.

Memory update

Wild elephants form matriarchal family groups which travel, hunt for food, and socialise together. Individuals need to keep track of each other, as family members split up into smaller groups or overtake companions as they wander the home range.

Psychologists from the University of St Andrews collected samples of female elephant urine from the ground and presented it to relatives to trick them into believing that the elephant had recently passed by.

Elephants showed surprise when they encountered the scent of an individual who was actually walking behind them so could not possibly have been there.

To continue reading, click here.