 The core of elephant society is the family unit, which comprises several adult cows, their daughters of all ages and their sons of prepubertal age.Two or more family units that have close ties was termed a 'kinship group' by Iain Douglas-Hamilton who observed African bush elephants for 4.5 years in Lake Manyara National Park.The family unit is led by a matriarch who at times also leads the kinship group.