Zoo Biology 19:447–459 (2000) © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Social Structure and Helping Behavior in Captive Elephants Bruce A. Schulte* Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia Selective pressures on individual behavior serve to mold social structure and subsequent levels of cooperation in social species, including elephants. Adult Asian (Elephas maximus) and African (Loxodonta africana) elephants have com- plex social societies that differ markedly between the sexes. Elephant social struc- ture and cooperative behavior may have evolved in part to prepare young elephants to meet the challenges of an expansive environment, predators and parasites. In captivity, such forces are relaxed or eliminated, yet captive elephants display a similar repertoire of behaviors as their wild counterparts. Elephants live in herds of related adult females from several generations. This female social unit is cen- tered on calves and the matriarch. Adult males reside in bachelor herds, singly, or frequent female groups, depending on male age and reproductive condition. In captivity, female elephants are usually housed together, although group size is smaller than in the wild, whereas adult males are generally housed separately from other elephants. Beyond these general similarities between wild and cap- tive settings, captive elephants are housed in a wider range of group sizes, de- grees of relatedness, and age structures than would be typical in the wild. This variation in social structure can be used to explore questions about cooperative behavior. Following a comparison of wild and captive social structures for el- ephants, three such potential avenues for study are discussed. Specifically, re- search with captive elephants could shed light on the development of social behavior, the functional significance of allomothering, and the ability of elephants to recognize kin or social group members. Beside the potential theoretical impli- cations and insight into wild elephant behavior, the examination of social behav- ior also has important ramifications for the management of animals in captivity. Zoo Biol 19:447–459, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Key words: allomothering; conservation; cooperation; development; musth INTRODUCTION Research on captive elephants has elucidated some key elements of elephant behavior, anatomy, and physiology. Through regular, long-term sampling of serum *Correspondence to: Bruce A. Schulte, Box 8042, Department of Biology, Georgia Southern Univer- sity, Statesboro, GA 30460-8042. E-mail: bschulte@gasou.edu Received for publication December 18, 1999; Accepted August 23, 2000.