People have been hunting elephants since ancient times: at first they were interested in meat, and then in tusks used to make expensive souvenirs. Huge animals are in danger even now, but over hundreds of years they have managed to develop strategies for defending against hostile people. For example, a group of scientists led by Professor Nishant Srinivashaya discovered that male Asian elephants began to live more often in large groups in order to scare off enemies. This is truly an amazing discovery, because elephants of this species usually live in mixed families, where adult females play the main role.
The discovery was made in a study that was conducted from February 2016 to December 2017. During this time, Indian scientists have taken about 1445 photographs of 250 Asian elephants living in various parts of India. After examining the collected data, the researchers came to the conclusion that today only 43% of males live in mixed families. The remaining 33% are single males, while 23% of male elephants live and defend together. On average, there are approximately 3 elephants in one group.
Where do elephants live?
Most often, groups of males are found in areas that are not the most comfortable for living. After examining the photographs, the researchers noticed that the elephants were grouping in areas without forests, where it is extremely difficult to get food and there is a high probability of meeting people. Since it is difficult for them to get food, individuals from male groups are very different from males from mixed families - they are much larger than them and have more strength.
Elephants kill people
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Despite the fact that the inhabitants of India are actively taming elephants, huge animals still pose a great danger to people. In April 2019, five people were trampled by an angry elephant in the Indian state of Orissa - they died on the spot. According to The Hindu, 92 people died in this region of India in 2018.
Ramis Ganiev
