NORTH
AMERICA
EUROPE
ASIA
AFRICA
SOUTH
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AUSTRALIA
Anditwillbeagain.Butfrom1977to1992,GorongosaNationalParkwasawar zone.
In1975,theAfricancountryofMozambiquegaineditsindependencefromPortugal.Twoyearslater,thecountrywasengulfedinacivilwar.Thewarwasahumanwar.Yet,manyanimalssuffered.Afterthewar,largeanimals,suchaselephants,buffalo,zebrasandwildebeests,werenoticeablylacking.Wheresome2,500 elephantshadfreelyroamed,fewerthan200elephantsremained.Andthosethatdidwerescarredby war.
ForDominiqueGonçalves,Gorongosaishome.Sheunderstandswhattheelephantssuffered.SheisaNationalGeographicExplorerandthemanageroftheElephantEcology Project.
ANTARCTICA
Mozambique
GorongosaNational Park
Elephantsareknownfortheirsocialbonds,intelligence,and memory.
AnimalbehavioristsbelievethatGorongosaelephantsareaggressive.ButGonçalvespreferstothinkofthemasprotective.Theyhaveseentheirfamiliesslaughtered,andtheyhavelong memories.
Theseelephantswerehuntedformeattofeedsoldiers.Theirtusksweresoldforammunition.Manyelephantsfromthattimearealivetoday.Andtheydon’ttrusthumans.Howwilltheirexperiencesshapetheir future?
MatriarchValdastandstall.Butyoucanclearlyseethebulletholeinherrightear—aninjuryshegotinthe war.
AllintheFamily
Anelephantherdislikeafamily.Theoldestandlargestfemaleleadsherdaughtersandtheiroffspring.Sheisthe matriarch.
Thefemaleshelpeachotherwiththebirthandcareoftheiryoung.Maleelephants,calledbulls,formsmallpodsinwhichtheyliveand travel.
DominiqueGonçalvesobserveselephantsinthe field.
InGorongosa,theelephants’behaviorisinfluencedbytheirfearofpeopledevelopedduringwartime.Theybehavedifferentlyfromelephants elsewhere.
Theystayawayfromopenareasduringdaylight.Iftheyencounterpeople,theyfightorflee.Theytrumpetloudlytoscarepeople away.
Gonçalveshasseenthesebehaviors.Sheunderstandswhattheymean.“Thesocialbondsbetweenelephantsarereallycomplex,”shesays.Theyformstrongconnections,beginningwiththemotherandcalf.Protectingtheherdisthematriach’spriority.Gonçalveslearnedthisinthe field.
