Kidnapping Behavior in Elephants: A Compelling Mystery
The behavior of elusive African forest elephants can be a challenge to study. Trying to understand the causes of that behavior, or “get inside their heads” as it were, can be even more difficult. We may be able to observe the behavior, but how do the elephants understand their own actions? Although the lens of our own human experience may bias our interpretations, it can still be interesting to explore the cognitive processes and implications of these behaviors.
This is the case for so-called “kidnapping” behavior in elephants, the existence of which is still disputed among elephant researchers. Cases of calves being kidnapped by other elephant families are rare, and it is even more rare to find a “true”, permanent case where the calf is not eventually recovered by its parents. It can be difficult to untangle our own human ideas and responses about this behavior from what is really happening when an unfamiliar adult takes a calf. Nevertheless, there are some interesting cases that suggest complicated motives, possibly influenced by upbringing and even emotional issues.
In one long-term study executed in Amboseli National Park by researchers Lucy Bates et al.¹, there were nine cases of apparent kidnapping of calves by unrelated female elephants. In six out of the nine cases observed, the unrelated females were only caring for calves who had wandered over to them, and the calves were retrieved by their actual mothers without much trouble¹. On the other three occasions, the unrelated females, who were from dominant families, actively attempted to remove the calf from its family or resisted the mother’s attempts to retrieve it¹.
One such case, where female calf Ebony is forcibly removed from her mother Echo by larger matriarch Vi, was recorded in a BBC documentary². In a show of dominance, Vi and her family fight back when Echo attempts to retrieve her calf. Responding to Echo’s alarm calls, Echo’s relatives arrive and work together to rescue Ebony. In another interesting case, a different BBC documentary of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka³ appears to record a dominant adult female battling a mother for calf and actually succeeding. The ultimate fate of the calf is not shown in the clip.
Some researchers question supposed cases of kidnapping because of the evolutionary disadvantage of such behavior. It would seem a poor choice, evolutionarily, to take on an extra mouth to feed that does not pass on your genes (Peter Wrege, personal communication). Why would elephants choose to act this way? Perhaps these instances of “kidnapping” were really cases of mistaken identity, or of adult elephants attempting to “allomother” a calf they think is lost. Female elephants are known to care for and even “babysit” lost or wandering calves from other families¹. Another proposed theory by Graham Kerley, professor at Nelson Mandela University, considers that infertile females or females who have lost calves might experience something similar to depression and decide to kidnap other calves⁴.
In the clip from the Sri Lanka BBC documentary³, the narrator also seems to draw an interesting connection between the extreme behavior and the unrelated female’s unusual upbringing as an orphan. The female did not grow up with parents, but in a group of other young elephants being rehabilitated by humans. Without the social skills of a normal upbringing, the unrelated female may not have recognized her behavior as “stealing” the calf, but as sharing and caring for it like an older sibling. Previously, we’ve seen how lacking the direction of a parent can seriously impact an elephant’s social awareness and mental state. In our earlier article on musth⁵, we explored the case of young male elephants orphaned by culling. Without the formative guidance of older males, these males grew up to be extremely aggressive troublemakers. The Sri Lanka case recorded in the BBC documentary is another reminder of how human actions may have unforeseen consequences on the complex social lives of elephants.
Whatever the motivation, kidnapping behavior could be dangerous for calves, who may bond to new mothers who cannot provide milk. Often when a calf is “kidnapped”, the mother will recruit members to serve as a search-and-rescue team. In the Amboseli study mentioned earlier, all retrieval cases included a mother acting either by herself or accompanied by older members of the family¹. Although “true” cases of kidnapping are rarely observed, these instances pose danger to both the retrieving parents and the calf, who could be injured in the conflict. Although the cases recorded in Sri Lanka and Amboseli offer interesting glimpses into the complexities of elephant social life, the exact causes and outcomes of these supposed “kidnapping” behaviors still largely remain a mystery.
References:
¹Bates, L., Byrne, R.W., Lee, P.C., Moss, C.J., Njiraini, N., Poole, J.H., Sayialel, K., & Sayialel, S. (2008). Do elephants show empathy?. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 15(10–11), 204–225. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/37245197_Do_Elephants_Show_Empathy
²Sparks, J. (Producer), Attenborough, D. (Narrator), & Moss, C. (Narrator). (1996). Clip from Echo of the Elephants: the Next Generation [TV documentary episode]. BBC Natural World: Series 14, Episode 1. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0097lp6
³Birkhead, M. (Director) & Colbeck, M. (Narrator). (2013). Clip from Sri Lanka: Elephant Island [TV documentary episode]. BBC Natural World: Series 32, Episode 4. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrHliWzCWbU
⁴Kerley, G. I., & Shrader, A. M. (2007). Elephant contraception: silver bullet or a potentially bitter pill?. South African Journal of Science, 103(5–6), 181–182. Retrieved from www.scielo.org.za/pdf/sajs/v103n5-6/05.pdf
⁵Eclipse, A. (2020, January 6). Elephants in Musth: Love on the Brain. Retrieved from https://medium.com/elp-rumbles/elephants-in-musth-love-on-the-brain-f009d706a6be
