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From the mid 1960s until 1995, wildlife officials in South Africa culled elephants to control their populations.
This practice, which involves killing older elephants and relocating young ones, was studied by University of Sussex professors Graeme Shannon and Karen McComb.
They found, after studying elephants orphaned from culling operations and placed in South Africa’s Pilanesberg National Park, that the culling had a strong effect on the social behaviour and community knowledge of the surviving animals, causing similar symptoms as those attributed to PTSD.
Culling casts long shadows.
The two of them visited families of elephants that had never been culled in places such as Pilanesberg and in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park.
There, they broadcasted different elephant calls for them.
These un-culled elephants responded as expected: bunching at attention when hearing the call of a strong threat and relaxing when hearing the calls of smaller threats or an all-clear.
The culled elephants of Pilanesberg, however, responded abnormally. They showed no clear conception of the difference between threat levels and appropriate reactions.
They attributed these ‘culled’ reactions to both the first trauma of the culling and the following loss of elders and role models that it caused.
“Fundamental aspects of the elephant’s complex social behaviour may be significantly altered in the long term” they said.
Because elephants transfer knowledge, this culled behaviour is passed down from generation to generation.
I think of this when ignorant people say that colonization happened a long time ago.
I think of this when ignorant people say that slavery happened a long time ago.
I think of this in connection to the many attempted and successful genocides that have happened and continue to happen.
The damage is so lasting.
The damage is so lasting.
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This practice, which involves killing older elephants and relocating young ones, was studied by University of Sussex professors Graeme Shannon and Karen McComb.
They found, after studying elephants orphaned from culling operations and placed in South Africa’s Pilanesberg National Park, that the culling had a strong effect on the social behaviour and community knowledge of the surviving animals, causing similar symptoms as those attributed to PTSD.
Culling casts long shadows.
The two of them visited families of elephants that had never been culled in places such as Pilanesberg and in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park.
There, they broadcasted different elephant calls for them.
These un-culled elephants responded as expected: bunching at attention when hearing the call of a strong threat and relaxing when hearing the calls of smaller threats or an all-clear.
The culled elephants of Pilanesberg, however, responded abnormally. They showed no clear conception of the difference between threat levels and appropriate reactions.
They attributed these ‘culled’ reactions to both the first trauma of the culling and the following loss of elders and role models that it caused.
“Fundamental aspects of the elephant’s complex social behaviour may be significantly altered in the long term” they said.
Because elephants transfer knowledge, this culled behaviour is passed down from generation to generation.
I think of this when ignorant people say that colonization happened a long time ago.
I think of this when ignorant people say that slavery happened a long time ago.
I think of this in connection to the many attempted and successful genocides that have happened and continue to happen.
The damage is so lasting.
The damage is so lasting.
tags