African savannas are a paradise for wildlife, where many species roam freely in the endless wilderness. However, in the early 1990s, a shocking event occurred here when caretakers discovered that several rhinos living in the area had died under unusual circumstances. After investigation, officials ultimately found the real culprit behind the deaths of these rhinos: elephants.
African elephants are the most formidable animals on land. They can sometimes display extreme aggression and brutality, possessing strength ten times that of a Siberian tiger. Even a pride of lions can only flee in panic when elephants go on a rampage.
Especially during mating season, solitary male African elephants often force rhinos to mate with them to vent their anger; failure to comply could result in direct killing. So why do elephants exhibit such abnormal behavior? During the investigation, the scientific research team found that the underlying reason for elephants raping rhinos is actually rooted in human behavior.
African elephants are highly social animals. They typically live in groups of about 20-30 members. The oldest female leads the herd, and most members are females. The hierarchy within elephant herds is very strict, but members are generally friendly and conflicts are rare, whether in feeding or movement; everything is orderly, and they care for each other’s young. However, male elephants do not participate in the herd and are expelled when they reach maturity.
Elephants are known for their high social behavior; they live in family units led by an older female. Daily activities, whether foraging or seeking shelter, are directed by the matriarch, and mature males are responsible for ensuring the safety of the herd.
Mother elephants give birth every four to six years until they lose their reproductive ability at around fifty years old, and the entire maturation process of elephants is very slow, so all herd members share the responsibility of caring for the young.
Upon reaching maturity, young male elephants leave the herd to join male elephant groups, while mature females remain with the herd. In male herds, older males personally teach younger males how to fend for themselves. With the increase in human-driven deforestation and the rising number of illegal poachers, this social structure of elephants has been disrupted.
After their habitats are affected, many young male elephants lose the protection of their family members. They may not even have mastered how to express love or reproduce, and without proper guidance, they will not understand what proper mating and reproduction behavior entails. Consequently, in the eyes of some male elephants, defenseless rhinos easily become their mates, inadvertently turning rhinos into victims.
Male elephants typically leave the herd at age 14. However, sexual maturity does not occur until they are 18 years old; they may need to continue developing strength and experience, and it could be around the age of 30 before they have the right to mate. When mating season arrives, male elephants can become very aggressive, with testosterone levels in their bodies rising twenty-fold, leading to unusually aggressive temperaments.
Additionally, another reason for elephants raping rhinos is directly related to their memory. Among mammals, elephants have over two hundred billion neurons, three times more than humans, and these neurons provide elephants with extraordinary memory capabilities.
Therefore, when many illegal poachers hunt and brutally kill the parents of young elephants, witnessing such brutal scenes inflicts deep psychological trauma on the young elephants. They lack companionship from the group, without guidance from adults, and these painful memories accompany the young elephants throughout their growth, which also leads them to gradually develop violent psychology and behavior.
Some scientists have discovered that unusual fear or excessive aggression also appears in elephants with psychological trauma. They become elephants that do not know love, and as they gradually mature, with a huge amount of hormones generated in their bodies, they will not know how to cope, and at that point, rhinos will become scapegoats for their pent-up aggression.
Under forced mating, many rhinos die tragically. It is evident that the conflict between humans and elephants is becoming increasingly severe, and without the rampant logging and illegal poaching by humans, male elephants would likely not engage in such extreme acts of raping rhinos.
If elephants continue to rape rhinos, it means that more and more rhinos will die. How can we stop elephants from raping rhinos?
The underlying cause of this brutal and deviant path for elephants is due to humans, so humans still need to address this behavior. For example, protecting the ecological environment, planting trees, ending illegal hunting, restoring habitats for elephants, and rebuilding the social structure of elephants so that young male elephants can receive parental love, proper guidance, and change their distorted views on pairing.
Moreover, intervention from relevant parties is also needed to help male elephants heal their psychological wounds, gradually and effectively preventing this deviant behavior.
