Asiatic elephants are gregarious animals, staying in herds from 5 up to 20 or more individuals. A herd usually consists of one extended family, and typically only a single bull metes with any females that are in heat. However, it seems that the breeding male is only loosly attached to the herd, and after some time he will depart. The breeding male is sometimes a big tusker and sometimes a seedor, or tuskless bull. If another bull begins to attend a cow in heat, he will be chased away by the breeding bull. This may lead to a serious fight : the defeated, in most cases, leaves the herd and is a solitary male until he finds a herd he can join. Some old bulls leave the herd voluntarily: they may try to get into a herd temporarily to mate with a cow in heat, but after mating they will leave the herd again. These solitary bulls may stay together with other solitaries in a group of 2 or 3, but never more than a few. Such bulls can be quite dangerous.