Friend or Foe? Old Elephants Know

Seniors of the elephant matriarchy, females at least 55 years old, turn out to be far better at telling friends from strangers than are pipsqueak 35-year-olds.

The quality of this grandmotherly know-how correlates with the number of calves in elephant groups, Karen McComb of the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and her colleagues report in the April 18 Science.