Female Elephants Raised with Older Sisters Live Longer and Reproduce Earlier, Study Shows

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A new study suggests that female elephants benefit more from having older sisters than older brothers during their upbringing.

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Researchers found that female calves raised alongside older sisters tend to live longer and reproduce two years earlier compared to those with older brothers.

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This discovery was made by scientists studying semi-captive populations of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Myanmar, though the exact reasons behind these benefits remain unclear.

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The study highlights siblings’ influence on younger elephants, from their early years as calves to their later stages of life.

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Overall, having older siblings significantly improved the long-term survival of calves. However, older sisters had a stronger positive impact compared to older brothers.

The research, conducted by a team from universities in Finland, the UK, and Myanmar, was published in the Journal of Animal Ecology by the British Ecological Society.

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“Sibling relationships shape individual lives, especially in social species like elephants, where cooperative behaviors are key to development, survival, and reproductive potential,” said lead researcher Dr. VĂ©rane Berger from the University of Turku, Finland.

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The researchers used an extensive dataset of 2,344 calves born between 1945 and 2018, part of Myanmar’s government-owned, semi-captive elephant population.

They analyzed how the presence and sex of older siblings affected the body mass, reproductive timing, sex, and survival of the younger calves.

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The study revealed that female elephants raised with older sisters not only lived longer but also reproduced earlier, leading to the potential for more offspring over their lifetime.

On the other hand, male elephants raised with older sisters had lower survival rates but higher body weights than those raised with older brothers.

This suggests that an early boost in body mass for males might come with long-term survival costs.

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As the correlational study, other factors, such as maternal care quality or the elephants’ workload and management, may have influenced the outcomes. “We hope to gather more data on maternal body mass at birth to separate these maternal effects from sibling effects,” Dr. Berger added.

The team also aims to explore how environmental factors and sibling relationships impact health aspects like immunity and hormonal changes.

The research focused on Myanmar’s semi-captive timber elephants living in forest camps. These elephants work during the day as draft animals and roam the forests unsupervised at night, where they can interact and mate with both wild and domesticated elephants.

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Sadly, the Asian elephant is listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to habitat loss caused by human population growth.

As human populations expand, elephants are forced into smaller habitats, increasing the likelihood of conflicts with people.

Similarly, the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) faces near extinction due to poaching and is currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.

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