Friend or Foe? Old Elephants Know

April 18, 2001 at 9:02 am - More than 2 years ago

Seniors of the elephant matriarchy, females at least 55 years old, turn out to be far better at telling friends from strangers than are pipsqueak 35-year-olds.

How African elephants fare depends on the age of their matriarch, a new study suggests. Photodisc

The quality of this grandmotherly know-how correlates with the number of calves in elephant groups, Karen McComb of the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and her colleagues report in the April 18 Science.

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