Elephant matriarchs of 60 years of age or older tend to assess threats in a simulated crisis more accurately than younger matriarchs, according to researchers at the University of Sussex.
When the researchers played recordings of various lion roars, elephant groups with older matriarchs grew especially defensive at the sound of male cats. Younger matriarchs’ families under-reacted
The findings will be published in a forthcoming Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.
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