young elephants are raised within a matriarchal family,beginning with their mother and then including sisters.cousins, aunth, grandmothers, and friends. These bonds endure over a lifetime that can be as long as 70 years. young elephants stay close to their mothers and extended family members-males until are about 14, females for life. according to daphne She ldrick, founder and director of an elephant orphanage in kenya for over 30 years, "whenever we get a new baby here,the others will come around and lovingly put their trunks on its back to comfort it. They have such big hearts