Are male elephants seen alone in Udawalawe?

Yes, solitary adult male elephants, commonly called bulls, are often spotted moving around alone across Udawalawe National Park. Meanwhile, females and calves stay within matriarchal herds, while mature males naturally end up with a more solitary routine.

Bull elephants usually move away from their birth groups between the ages of 12 and 15. In Udawalawe, these single males are frequently observed browsing and searching for food on their own, or sometimes they drift into a brief, loose companionship with other bulls, but they do not stay together for long. During musth, the bulls become especially driven; they actively look for female herds for mating, and after that phase, they go back to their solitary lifestyle again.