Asiatic elephant

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Similar to African elephants, a hierarchical social structure is suggested for Asian Elephants. However the degree of bonding across socialtiers appears to be much lower than that found in well-described savanna systems and may be more similar to that speculated for African Forest Elephants. In part this may be due to similarities in habitat, where widely distributed resources limit the potential for consistently large aggregations. Female core social groups are genetically related (primarily being mother — calf groups), and males disperse from their natal groups and appearto settle away from their natal range. Little is known about Asian Elephant ranging patterns, but it appears home range size and daily movement patterns are smaller than those of xeric African Savanna Elephants (Loxodonta africana) and possibly similar in scope to those of African Forest Elephants (L. ¢ yclotis), which show a high degree of individual variability. Range is typically highly restricted by human activity, which is likely a major determinant of movement behavior. The few studies that have been undertaken suggest elephant movements are largely in response to human activity and density.