Actually, the EBs are an interesting family, in that although everyone defers to Ella, she's not really very keen to adopt the matriarch role, and much prefers to be with her daughters and their calves. The process of matriarch emergence is part of my studies, so we can't give definitive answers yet, but we do know it depends very much on the personality of the females involved, and their relationships with one another. The process may take several years before clear family splits/ leadership choices are made, although of course sometimes it can happen much faster. These processes seem to take longer in larger families, like the EBs.

Best wishes,

Vicki