male elephants

Elephants are slow-growing, long-lived mammals, surviving up to 70 years in the wild. The length of an individual's life, or its longevity, and reproductive success go hand in hand. Older females are more successful at raising their offspring to maturity than are younger females, and the oldest males are the primary breeders.

These older and more experienced individuals are often targets of ivory poachers and sport hunters because of their generally larger tusks, but their removal can have serious consequences. Elephants rely on older members for their social and ecological knowledge and leadership abilities, and entire families and even populations may be damaged by the removal of a few key individuals.

Elephant calves mature slowly

An elephant pregnancy lasts about 660 days, or approximately 22 months. Once an elephant is born it matures slowly and is dependent on its mother's milk for more than two years. In Amboseli, calves rely solely on their mothers to meet their energetic requirements for survival and growth during the first three months of life. After that they begin to feed independently, but they do not achieve substantial levels of food intake until they are at least two years old. By age three, calves can