Animal field note
Memory keeper
Wise Elephant
The oldest elephant in a herd remembers the way to water holes that only she has ever visited.
Let's look closer
How does one elephant remember so much?
lephant families follow a grandmother, called the matriarch, who has walked the land the longest and knows it best. She carries decades of memories about which rivers dry up in a bad year, which forests bloom after rain, and which paths are safest to travel. Researchers studying elephant herds have found that groups led by an older, more experienced matriarch are better at surviving droughts, because she can recall watering holes that haven't been visited in years. Her memory becomes the whole family's map, passed down simply by her leading the way.
Look for this
Explorer clue
Watch how a herd moves in a line, with the oldest elephant often leading the way and the youngest kept close in the middle.
Your turn to wonder
Curiosity question
If you carried a map of every place your family has ever visited, where would you lead them first?
Keep wandering
