Scientist at Work Blog: The Missing Elephant Leader

Caitlin O?Connell-Rodwell, who teaches at the Stanford University School of Medicine, writes from Etosha National Park in Namibia, where she is studying elephant societies.

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Thursday, July 5

We were racing the moon to get to Mushara before July 3. There?s a lot of elephant activity during the full moon period and we didn?t want to miss it, nor did I want to miss a single opportunity to observe Greg, the dominant bull of our study population. After four very busy days of elephant visits in between setting up, powering the camp and trouble-shooting equipment, our research routine is slowly emerging, but still no sign of Greg.

There were a few unexpected delays to the start of the research, like having to remove a very well-fed five-foot Cape cobra from our observation bunker. Apparently our cobra-proofing last season didn?t stop a new one from getting in and making a home in this warm, shady cement block with a constant supply of mice. Tim and I noosed it, drove it a few kilometers down the road and released it in the shade.

With camp secured and bunker cobra-free, we got down to the business of elephants, while Tim and the film team got down to their gear. And no sooner were the cameras unpacked than the first family group showed up, followed by others into the night and throughout the day after the full moon. At more than one point, there were more than a hundred elephants at the waterhole, with a marathon three-hour visit by Wynona?s family. We hadn?t seen Wynona since 2008, and this long visit provided us with the luxury of figuring out who had new calves and reconfirming dominance ranking.

As the yellow waning moon rose next to the tower in the east, I listened to the dinner conversation below. With the election coming up, my American team members explained our complicated politics to the Europeans in the camp. Meanwhile my mind was heavy, filled with a deep anxiety about Greg.

We had been here four days and he hadn?t shown up, despite visits from core members of his Boys? Club. Prince Charles was at the waterhole as we pulled up on the first day. Then Greg?s nemesis, Smokey, arrived late morning on the following day, full of his musthy drama ? swinging his trunk from side to side as he pranced in, grabbing sand with his trunk and curling his trunk over his head, creating a sandy shower. But there was no sign of Greg and no sign of the Boys? Club. Only Keith showed up to mix it up with Wynona?s family yesterday. About an hour into his visit, he appeared to be searching for his commander. He would press his trunk into the ground, freeze and lean forward in one direction and then another, presumably listening for the distant ground rumblings of his buddies. But no other club members showed up except the new recruit, Spock.

What concerned me most was seeing Abe come in with Colin Powell today. Last year, Greg and Abe were inseparable. Almost the only period they were not together was in 2008, when the extremely wet year caused a splintering of the Boys? Club and the two of them somehow ended up in a tiff in which Greg stamped his feet at the sight of Abe at the edge of the clearing. The next year they had somehow made their peace and were inseparable again. In 2010, after his trunk wound, Greg was intolerant of his contemporaries, including Abe, and in 2011, they were tight once again.

My thoughts were temporarily interrupted by lions roaring all around the camp, followed by a jackal chorus. Some of my team had never seen a lion before, so they raced up the ladder to the research floor to get a look at these impressive cats hassling a male rhino at the waterhole. I decided to call it a night, with the lingering hope that Greg would show up tomorrow.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c9e9ffa262059938d84849337106dd45

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