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Bull school

When the bulls arrive, young males learn their place in elephant society.

A large male elephant arrive at the Dzanga Bai in search of females. Researcher Andrea Turkalo has watched this particular male, Triple Bite, since he was a young adolescent, and now he has become one of the most dominant bulls in the clearing. He hasn't been seen here for nearly a year and has travelled hundreds of miles to reach Dzanga where he knows he can find females. The females aren't alone in detecting the excitement when the large males arrive. Young males also get very fiesty, running around the bai for the entire afternoon and chasing antelope. These young guys are in puberty, and are learning how to be grown up. Unlike on the savannah, elephants rarely see each other in the forest, the clearings offers rare moments of contact and time for the bulls to get to know each other and learn each others strengths. Everything these big bulls do is copied by the youngsters and Andrea calls this 'bull school'. Life humans, elephants undergo the same socialisation process as they grow up. It's just like a school yard, a time and place for youngsters to learn their place in elephant society.

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3 minutes

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