Study: Elephants Can Suffer From Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome

LONDON (CBS Atlavnta) – African elephants are suffering from mass killings that took place decades ago, says a new study.

While they may appear normal to the average human, the experts say these elephants show clear signs of social disorders, similar to post-traumatic stress.

Wildlife officials often used culling as a management tool from the 1960s to the 1990s.

The managers worried that too many elephants would overrun and destroy the preserve.

Park officials would then send young male survivors to other facilities.

“Some of these elephants ended up in Pilanesberg National Park,” in South Africa’s North West Province where part of the new study was carried out, says Graeme Shannon, a behavioral ecologist at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, and the lead author of the new study. More