Some Observations regarding Allomaternal Caretaking among Captive Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)

One of the more conspicuous features of elephant social behavior is the prevalence of allomaternal care, or mother-like behavior directed by females toward young other than their own. In species where allomothering is common, it might benefit an individual to be able to discriminate between her own...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of mammalogy 1987-05, Vol.68 (2), p.438-442
Main Authors: Rapaport, Lisa, Haight, Jay
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal ethology
Biological and medical sciences
Calves
Elephants
Elephas maximus
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General Notes
Grandsons
Lactation
Mammalia
Mothers
Nurses
Primates
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Reproduction
Social behavior
Vertebrata
Zoos
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Summary:One of the more conspicuous features of elephant social behavior is the prevalence of allomaternal care, or mother-like behavior directed by females toward young other than their own. In species where allomothering is common, it might benefit an individual to be able to discriminate between her own offspring, the young of related individuals, and unrelated young. This report describes allomaternal caretaking behavior in cow-calf groups of known lineage in the Asian elephant herd at the Washington Park Zoo in Portland, Oregon.
ISSN:0022-2372
1545-1542
1545-1542
0022-2372
DOI:10.2307/1381494