Elephants that give birth as teenagers die younger than older mothers, but raise bigger families during their lifetime, according to a recent study.
Researchers from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom found that Asian elephants that had calves before the age of 19 were almost two times more likely to die before the age of 50 than those that had their first offspring later, according to a press release.
"Understanding how maternal performance changes with age and impacts on later-life survival and fertility is important," researcher Adam Hayward said in a statement. "Asian elephants are endangered in the wild and low fertility in captivity necessitates acquisition of elephants from the wild every year to maintain captive populations."
Researchers also found that elephants that entered motherhood at an earlier age had more calves following their teenage years than those that started reproducing after the age of 19. Elephants that gave birth twice in their teenage years had calves three times more likely to survive to independence than those born to mothers who had their first young after the age of 19, based on their findings.
Research found that Asian elephants, which can live into their 70s, could give birth from the age of five. Their fertility peaked on average at the age of 19 before declining.
The findings will help maximize fertility in captive and semi-captive elephants, reducing the strain on the endangered wild population, Hayward said. It will also help reduce strain on the wild population.
Virpi Lummaa, Reader of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Sheffield, stated that people rarely get the opportunity to study how other species with a lifespan similar to humans grow old
"This study represents a unique analysis of the ageing process in a similarly long-lived mammal," she said. "It also supports the evolutionary theory that selection for high fertility in early life is energetically demanding, which accelerates declines in survival rates with age which are typical of most animals."
