(ORDO NEWS) — Loneliness leads to the development of depression and anxiety in people. As it turned out, this condition causes a number of negative consequences for elephants.
Animals show more signs of stress when alone than in a group. Some types of animals experience a lot of stress if they don’t have friends.
Previous research has shown that people with strong relationships within a group of friends have a range of benefits, including improved mental health, reduced risk of disease, and increased life expectancy.
“Feelings of loneliness can have a negative impact on your mental health, especially if it continues for a long time,” experts explain.
“Some research suggests that loneliness is associated with an increased risk of certain mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, sleep problems, and increased stress.”
So far, however, little research has explored how loneliness affects elephants, a species that thrives on social contact.
How do elephants react to loneliness?
Researchers at the University of Turku, Finland, studied the behavior of 95 Asian elephants in Myanmar and compared the levels of stress hormones in their feces to understand how stress and loneliness are linked.
The analysis found that loneliness increases stress levels in male elephants, but females experience less stress if they have children.
“We found that male elephants show higher levels of stress when they have no friends or are in a social group with more males than females,” the authors write.
“Female elephants show lower levels of stress when they have children. But the size of the social group is not associated with the level of stress hormones in either men or women.”
Although the scientists expected that single females would show signs of stress, they found that this was not always the case.
Compared to male elephants, single females are more likely to make simple “acquaintances” rather than friends, which helps them avoid social stress, the researchers say.
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