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Why Matriarchs Matter

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Thu, 2011-06-09 13:27 by Vicki
Alison, matriarch of the AAs, isn't the strongest matriarch, and the AAs are not very cohesive as a family. We're still fond of her though, and I love this picture Cynthia took of her with her daughters. Matriarchs decide when to associate with other families - here members of the AAs greet some of the JAs. In the blog, I talk about how Jolene is a good matriarch in the JAs. However, she hasn't taught her family not to play on roads... The EBs move off after a rest period. Ella, their matriarch isn't visible in picture, but she did a lovely big "let's go" rumble to get everyone moving. You can see ears flapping in the picture as everyone responds to her. This was a cool, cloudy morning and everyone was resting before these young males started to disturb everyone with their antics. Matriarchs often won't tolerate young males getting pushy around their families. The JBs aren't one of my study families, but I still think their matriarch Jemima is a lovely female. Matriarchs that make good choices keep their families safe Emily Kate in oestrus, followed by Pigtail and Megahead (an unknown bull). Having experienced females helps young females cope with the new experiences reproduction brings. Unfortunately, having lost her mother Echo, Emily Kate has to do this on her own.

Hi everyone,

Here is the new image gallery for the latest post on my IFAW blog, about why matriarchs are so important in elephant society.

I'd like to encourage people to check out the excellent work IFAW is doing for elephant conservation across Africa and Asia, and especially Azzedine Downes' recent post on the Elephant E8 meeting. As Cynthia posted on our Facebook page, ATE are very pleased to be working with our IFAW colleagues, and thankful for their generous support of our work.

Best wishes,

Vicki

IFAW Report

Sun, 2011-06-12 21:27 by Donna

Another good report, Vicky. Thanks for sharing the fun with us.

Matriarchs blog and pictures

Fri, 2011-06-10 21:01 by Anna Martinsson

What a wonderful summary and blog Vicky and thank you for the pictures, especially re the EB’s, Ella is a wise matriarch and I hope that Emily Kate did learn enough from her mother during some tentative earlier moments in her early teens before entering this new and I guess more concrete beginning in her young life. Thank you for updating us and I saw the update on FB re the E8, what a great idea and my best wishes for this new collaboration.

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