Elephant herds have a matriarchal structure, which means their grandmother in charge! And her memory is the key to their survival. While the males run off once they reach sexual maturity, the females stick together. They’re lead by grandma, who remembers every child and every grandchild. All 30 of them.
Contrary to us, their amazing memory only improves with age and experience. So the tragedy is when grandma is killed by poachers before her time. The information dies with her, leaving the herd to fend for themselves.
The more we learn about elephants the more it appears that their impressive memory is only one aspect of an incredible intelligence that makes them one of the most social, creative and benevolent creatures on earth.
