Guess who’s the BOSS

Sometimes the qualities you’re endowed with at birth can go to your head come adolescence. Especially if you happen to be an African elephant, the largest land mammal in the world. Initially a little bull stumbles over his own trunk as he clumsily tries to follow in mom’s footsteps. Mother elephants are known to be the repositories of the herd’s social and survival knowledge, so it’s only natural (and necessary) for elephant toddlers to stick close to their mom. Elephant calves weigh around 250 pounds at birth and are able to see, smell, and walk about an hour afterward. Completely dependent on their mother’s milk for the first three months, they then start browsing on their own but will continue to nurse from their mother or other lactating females for several more years. Life for young elephants involves a lot of play. The young males chase and spar with other males, while young females are more likely to be chasing birds. Starting around age 10 the males become much more sociable, seeking to hang out with larger groups, especially older males around 35 years of age. That gives the young ones an opportunity to learn from the experience of older bulls. Adolescence is an important life stage in which young male elephants acquire skills and develop the relationships that will benefit their survival and reproductive prowess. They will undergo a growth spurt, develop secondary sexual characteristics, and become sexually mature. Their success in locating and mating with receptive females is closely related to body size, the development of their weaponry, and the skill it takes to wield those formidable tusks.