About the Courtship of Elephants

Elephants have very distinct and sporadic courtship habits. They do not chose one mate for life, nor do they mate with the same male repeatedly. Their courtships are brief and for the purpose of producing the strongest calf. Male and female elephants do not live together in the same herd, so courtship and mating is a choreographed dance of signals, vocal cues and fights among males for dominance---all for a a short, often one-time mating session.

Social and Family Lives

Male and female elephants live most of their lives separately. The females live in tight-knit groups of other females led by one of the oldest female elephants in the family. They share the work of raising the newborn elephants with females who are not currently nursing or raising calves. Having so many caretakers allows the mother to spend more time foraging for nutritious foods to provide her young with more nourishing milk.
Contrarily, male elephants live on the outskirts of the herd. They either live solitary lives or form irregular associations with other male elephants in what are called bachelor herds. While in bachelor herds, it is not uncommon for male elephants to engage in same-sex sexual behaviors with one or more regular companion elephants. They often display affection toward their companions and mount them as well. Females also regularly engage in same-sex affectionate companionships.

Two Cycles

Three to four times per year, a female elephant enters into a period called estrus where she is fertile and ready to mate. These cycles usually begin around age 13 and can continue into age 60. During this time, she releases pheromones through her urine and vaginal secretions that signal to males in the area of her estrus. Females also give off a number of calls and sounds to entice males to them.
Males enter a phase called musth each year. This period usually lasts a few months, and times very between males. During this time, testosterone is high and the males, like the females, give off pheromones. When males are in musth, they are more aggressive than usual and will engage in battle and territorial behaviors to compete for females in estrus.

Going the Distance

Elephants use not only their ears, but also their trunks and feet to hear. Their hearing is so good that they rarely rely on their poor vision. When a female elephant is in estrus, she makes a series of calls and noises to let males in the area who are in musth know she is ready to mate. Because male elephants are often solitary, roaming far outside the confines of the herd, they have been known to travel extreme distances to reach a female. Elephants can pick up sound vibrations through nerves in their feet and truck from miles away.

The Mating Dance

Male elephants move in, and compete through stand-offs and fights for dominance. Females prefer to mate with the biggest, strongest elephants and therefore usually mate exclusively with males who are 40 to 60 years old. Once a male wins enough dominance battles and can approach a female, he begins caressing her with his trunk and pressing his tusks against her back to symbolize that he wants to mount her. He will often sample her urine to make sure she is in estrus. If she is receptive to his advances, she will show affection by entwining trunks. If the female decides to mate with this male, they will temporarily move away from the rest of the herd. Eventually, he will mount her and attempt to impregnate her.

The Honeymoon

After mating, the male elephant sometimes spends time caressing the female, and sometimes retreats. Mating pairs have been known to stay in affectionate couplings for weeks at a time or not at all. The female remains with her family herd while the male returns to his solitary life, often not seeing that female again. If the mating was a success, and the female becomes pregnant, it takes almost two years (22 months) before she gives birth. If she has not been impregnated, she continues her estrus cycles until she becomes pregnant.
Female elephants come into estrus soon after giving birth and give birth on average every 3 to 5 years.