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December 2007, 00:00 GMT How elephants keep tabs on family By
Helen Briggs Science reporter, BBC News  Image: Richard Byrne
Elephants can identify individuals from the scent of urine
Elephants keep track on up to 30 absent relatives by sniffing
out their scent and building up a mental map of where they are,
research suggests.  Herd members use their good memory and keen
sense of smell to stay in touch as they travel in large groups,
according to a study of wild elephants in Kenya.  The University
of St Andrews studied 36 family groups of elephants living in
Amboseli National Park.  The research is published in the Royal
Society journal, Biology Letters.  Memory update  Wild elephants
form matriarchal family groups which travel, forage for food,
and socialise together. Individuals need to keep track of each
other, as family members split up into smaller groups or
overtake companions as they wander the home range. It may be
that where elephants rea