Controlling for behavioural state reveals social dynamics among male African elephants, Loxodonta africana

Goldenberg, Shifra Z.; de Silva, Shermin; Rasmussen, Henrik B.; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain; Wittemyer, George

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.07.002

Cited by 61Animal Behavior and ReproductionPrimate Behavior and EcologyWildlife Ecology and Conservation

Controlling for behavioural state reveals social dynamics among male African elephants, Loxodonta africana

Goldenberg, Shifra Z., de Silva, Shermin, Rasmussen, Henrik B., Douglas-Hamilton, Iain, Wittemyer, George·2014·Animal Behaviour

DOI 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.07.002

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Adult male elephants alternate time spent alone, in mixed-sex groups, and in male groups, albeit with weaker social bonds than those of females.
“These findings support the idea that adult males alternate time spent alone, in mixed-sex groups, and in male groups, albeit with weaker social bonds than those of females [18–20].”
From Socializing a group of male Asian elephants in a semi-captive facility in Lao PDR (2025) · cites this paper as [18]

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“…values were unlikely to have arisen by chance, they were nevertheless very weak relative to those found in female African or Asian elephants, Elephas maximus (de Silva & Wittemyer, 2012), perhaps a manifestation of the lower level of sociality in males (Chiyo et al., 2011; Lee et al., 2011).”
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“These findings support the idea that adult males alternate time spent alone, in mixed-sex groups, and in male groups, albeit with weaker social bonds than those of females [18–20].”
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Authors: Goldenberg, S. Z., de Silva, S., Rasmussen, H. B., Douglas-Hamilton, I., & Wittemyer, G.
Affiliations: Save the Elephants (KE)
Corresponding author: Goldenberg, Shifra Z.
ORCID: Goldenberg, Shifra Z.
Douglas-Hamilton, Iain
Wittemyer, George
Venue: Animal Behaviour
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2014-09
Volume: 95
Pages: 111-119
ISSN: 0003-3472 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.07.002
OpenAlex: W2133281811
Cited by: 61
References: 60
Citations by year: 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1
FWCI: 3.09
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations: Animal Behaviour (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (DGE-1321845)
NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship (1103468)
Dawkins Prize
International Elephant Foundation
Save the Elephants
Topics: Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Keywords: Loxodonta africana, social affiliation, sexual state, social networks, sexual inactivity, social dynamics

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Controlling for behavioural state reveals social dynamics among male African elephants, Loxodonta africana

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