Lions of Timbavati

[Matimbalani]

Somewhat related to the whole "old animals are ok to kill" narrative, ran into this article that talks about older elephant males and the social role they play:

Quote:Their analysis revealed that adolescent males almost always traveled with other males, and that older bulls were most likely to be found at the head of the line. The elephants otherwise did not follow a strict age-related pecking order, suggesting that older males are acting as leaders.

Because of their larger tusks, older bulls tend to be targeted by both poachers and trophy hunters. Trophy hunters have justified this by pointing to the assumption that male elephants are redundant for a population. The new findings, however, “underline the dire consequences of removing the oldest, largest males from elephant populations,” said Karen McComb, an animal behavior scientist at the University of Sussex in England, who was not involved in the study.

Old male lions may have their uses too. They often end up pairing with inexperienced young lions (specially solo ones) and guide them through critical stage in their development. We should resist the assumption that eliminating them does not have consequences. Reply