Editing Elephant (section)

===Social organisation===
[[File:Serengeti Elefantenherde1.jpg|thumb|A family of African bush elephants]]
Elephants are generally [[gregarious]] animals. African bush elephants in particular have a complex, stratified social structure.<ref name="deSilva1"/> Female elephants spend their entire lives in tight-knit [[Matrilineality|matrilineal]] family groups.<ref name=Sukumar175/> {{Anchor|Matriarch}} They are led by the [[Matriarchy#Other_animals|matriarch]], who is often the eldest female.<ref>Sukumar, p. 186.</ref> She remains leader of the group until death<ref name=African /> or if she no longer has the energy for the role;<ref name=Kingdon53>Kingdon, p. 53.</ref> a study on zoo elephants found that the death of the matriarch led to greater stress in the surviving elephants.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Harris, M.|author2=Sherwin, C.|author3=Harris, S.|url=http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=WC05007_7719_FRP.pdf|title=Defra final report on elephant welfare|publisher=University of Bristol|year=2008|access-date=30 October 2012|archive-date=24 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124052942/http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=WC05007_7719_FRP.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> When her tenure is over, the matriarch's eldest daughter takes her place instead of her sister (if present).<ref name=African /> One study found that younger matriarchs take potential threats less seriously.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=McComb, K. |author2=Shannon, G. |author3=Durant, S. M. |author4=Sayialel, K. |author5=Slotow, R. |author6=Poole, J. |author7=Moss, C. |year=2011 |title=Leadership in elephants: the adaptive value of age |journal=  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=278 |issue=1722 |pages=3270–3276 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2011.0168 |url=http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/cmvcr/Publications_files/ElephantLeadersProofs.pdf |pmid=21411454 |pmc=3169024 |access-date=26 December 2012 |archive-date=29 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429173959/http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/cmvcr/Publications_files/ElephantLeadersProofs.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Large family groups may split if they cannot be supported by local resources.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Vaughan, T. |author2=Ryan, J. |author3=Czaplewski, N. |year=2011|title=Mammalogy|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|page=136|isbn=978-0763762995}}</ref>

At [[Amboseli National Park]], Kenya, female groups may consist of around ten members, including four adults and their dependent offspring. Here, a cow's life involves interaction with those outside her group. Two separate families may associate and bond with each other, forming what are known as bond groups. During the dry season, elephant families may aggregate into clans. These may number around nine groups, in which clans do not form strong bonds but defend their dry-season ranges against other clans. The Amboseli elephant population is further divided into the "central" and "peripheral" subpopulations.<ref name=Sukumar175>Sukumar, pp. 172, 175–79.</ref>

Female Asian elephants tend to have more fluid social associations.<ref name="deSilva1">{{cite journal |last1=de Silva |first1=S. |last2=Wittemyer |first2=G. |year=2012 |title=A comparison of social organization in Asian elephants and African savannah elephants |journal=International Journal of Primatology |volume=  33|issue= 5|pages= 1125–1141|doi=10.1007/s10764-011-9564-1 |s2cid=17209753 }}</ref> In Sri Lanka, there appear to be stable family units or "herds" and larger, looser "groups". They have been observed to have "nursing units" and "juvenile-care units". In southern India, elephant populations may contain family groups, bond groups, and possibly clans. Family groups tend to be small, with only one or two adult females and their offspring. A group containing more than two cows and their offspring is known as a "joint family". Malay elephant populations have even smaller family units and do not reach levels above a bond group. Groups of African forest elephants typically consist of one cow with one to three offspring. These groups appear to interact with each other, especially at forest clearings.<ref name=Sukumar175 />

[[File:Asian Elephant at Corbett National Park 15.jpg|thumb|Lone bull: Adult male elephants spend much of their time alone or in single-sex groups]]
Adult males live separate lives. As he matures, a bull associates more with outside males or even other families. At Amboseli, young males may be away from their families 80% of the time by 14–15 years of age. When males permanently leave, they either live alone or with other males. The former is typical of bulls in dense forests. A [[dominance hierarchy]] exists among males, whether they are social or solitary. Dominance depends on age, size, and sexual condition.<ref name=Sukumar179 /> Male elephants can be quite sociable when not competing for mates and form vast and fluid social networks.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Goldenberg|first1=S. Z.|last2=de Silva|first2=S.|last3=Rasmussen|first3=H. B.|last4=Douglas-Hamilton|first4=I.|last5=Wittemyer|first5=G.|year=2014|title=Controlling for behavioural state reveals social dynamics among male African elephants, ''Loxodonta africana''|journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=95|pages=111–119|doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.07.002|s2cid=53152412 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=LaDue|first1=C. A.|last2=Vandercone|first2=R. P. G.|last3=Kiso|first3=W. K.|last4=Freeman|first4=E. W.|year=2022|title=Social behavior and group formation in male Asian elephants (Elephas maximus): the effects of age and musth in wild and zoo-housed animals|journal=Animals|volume=12|issue=9|page=1215|doi=10.3390/ani12091215 |pmid=35565641 |pmc=9100748 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Older bulls act as the leaders of these groups.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Allen|first1=C. R. B.|last2=Brent|first2=L. J. N.|last3=Motsentwa|first3=T|last4=Weiss|first4=M. N.|last5=Croft|first5=D. P.|year=2020|title=Importance of old bulls: leaders and followers in collective movements of all-male groups in African savannah elephants (''Loxodonta africana'')|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=10|issue=1|page=13996|doi=10.1038/s41598-020-70682-y|pmid=32883968 |pmc=7471917 |bibcode=2020NatSR..1013996A }}</ref> The presence of older males appears to subdue the aggression and "deviant" behaviour of younger ones.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Slotow, R. |author2=van Dyk, G. |author3=Poole, J. |author4=Page, B. |author5=Klocke, A. |s2cid=136330 |year=2000|title=Older bull elephants control young males|journal=Nature|volume=408|issue=6811|pages=425–426|doi=10.1038/35044191|pmid=11100713|bibcode=2000Natur.408..425S}}</ref> The largest all-male groups can reach close to 150 individuals. Adult males and females come together to breed. Bulls will accompany family groups if a cow is in [[Estrous cycle|oestrous]].<ref name=Sukumar179>Sukumar, pp. 179–83.</ref>