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RC Passage
Direction for the questions 1 to 5: The passage below is accompanied by a set of five questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
“Everybody pretty much agrees that the relationship between elephants and people has dramatically changed,” [says psychologist Gary] Bradshaw “where for centuries humans and elephants lived in relatively peaceful coexistence, there is now hostility and violence. Now, I use the term ‘violence’ because of the intentionality associated with it, both in the aggression of humans and, at times, the recently observed behavior of elephants.”
Typically, elephant researchers have cited, as a cause of aggression, the high levels of testosterone in newly matured male elephants or the competition for land and resources between elephants and humans. But, Bradshaw and several colleagues argue that today’s elephant populations are suffering from a form of chronic stress, a kind of species-wide trauma. Decades of poaching and culling and habitat loss, they claim, have so disrupted the intricate web of familial and societal relations by which young elephants have traditionally been raised in the wild, and by which established elephant herds are governed, that what we are now witnessing is nothing less than a precipitous collapse of elephant culture.
Elephants, when left to their own devices, are profoundly social creatures. Young elephants are raised within an extended, multi-tiered network of doting female caregivers that includes the birth mother, grandmothers, aunts and friends. These relations are maintained over a life span as long as 70 years. Studies of established herds have shown that young elephants stay within 15 feet of their mothers for nearly all of their first eight years of life, after which young females are socialized into the matriarchal network, while young males go off for a time into an all-male social group before coming back into the fold as mature adults.
This fabric of elephant society, Bradshaw and her colleagues [demonstrate], has effectively been frayed by years of habitat loss and poaching, along with systematic culling by government agencies to control elephant numbers and translocations of herds to different habitats. As a result of such social upheaval, calves are now being born to and raised by ever younger and inexperienced mothers. Young orphaned elephants, meanwhile, that have witnessed the death of a parent at the hands of poachers are coming of age in the absence of the support system that defines traditional elephant life. “The loss of elephant elders,” [says] Bradshaw, "and the traumatic experience of witnessing the massacres of their family, impairs normal brain and behavior development in young elephants.”
What Bradshaw and her colleagues describe would seem to be an extreme form of anthropocentric conjecture if the evidence that they’ve compiled from various elephant researchers weren’t so compelling. The elephants of decimated herds, especially orphans who’ve watched the death of their parents and elders from poaching and culling, exhibit behaviour typically associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma-related disorders in humans: abnormal startle response, unpredictable asocial behavior, inattentive mothering and hyper aggression.
According to Bradshaw, “Elephants are suffering and behaving in the same ways that we recognize in ourselves as a result of violence. Except perhaps for a few specific features, brain organization and early development of elephants and humans are extremely similar.”
Full RC Video Analysis
RC Line-wise Explanation
Paragraph 1
"Everybody pretty much agrees that the relationship between elephants and people has dramatically changed,” [says psychologist Gary] Bradshaw.
Explanation: Most people agree that the way humans and elephants interact has undergone a significant change.
"Where for centuries humans and elephants lived in relatively peaceful coexistence, there is now hostility and violence."
Explanation: For many years, humans and elephants lived peacefully, but now there is conflict and aggression between the two.
"Now, I use the term ‘violence’ because of the intentionality associated with it, both in the aggression of humans and, at times, the recently observed behavior of elephants.”
Explanation: Bradshaw defines "violence" as intentional harm, referring to both human aggression and some recent aggressive behaviors seen in elephants.
Paragraph 2
"Typically, elephant researchers have cited, as a cause of aggression, the high levels of testosterone in newly matured male elephants or the competition for land and resources between elephants and humans."
Explanation: Researchers usually explain elephant aggression by pointing to high testosterone levels in young male elephants or competition for land and resources with humans.
"But, Bradshaw and several colleagues argue that today’s elephant populations are suffering from a form of chronic stress, a kind of species-wide trauma."
Explanation: Bradshaw and his colleagues suggest that elephants today are dealing with long-term stress and trauma, not just aggression from competition.
"Decades of poaching and culling and habitat loss, they claim, have so disrupted the intricate web of familial and societal relations by which young elephants have traditionally been raised in the wild, and by which established elephant herds are governed, that what we are now witnessing is nothing less than a precipitous collapse of elephant culture."
Explanation: They argue that poaching, culling, and loss of habitat have destroyed the social structures of elephant families, leading to a collapse of elephant culture.
Paragraph 3
"Elephants, when left to their own devices, are profoundly social creatures."
Explanation: Elephants are very social animals when they are not disturbed by human influence.
"Young elephants are raised within an extended, multi-tiered network of doting female caregivers that includes the birth mother, grandmothers, aunts and friends."
Explanation: Young elephants are cared for by a group of females, including their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and other female elephants.
"These relations are maintained over a life span as long as 70 years."
Explanation: These relationships last throughout the elephants' lives, which can be as long as 70 years.
"Studies of established herds have shown that young elephants stay within 15 feet of their mothers for nearly all of their first eight years of life, after which young females are socialized into the matriarchal network, while young males go off for a time into an all-male social group before coming back into the fold as mature adults."
Explanation: Research shows that young elephants stay very close to their mothers for the first eight years, after which females join the matriarchal group and males join a male group before rejoining as adults.
Paragraph 4
"This fabric of elephant society, Bradshaw and her colleagues [demonstrate], has effectively been frayed by years of habitat loss and poaching, along with systematic culling by government agencies to control elephant numbers and translocations of herds to different habitats."
Explanation: The social structure of elephants has been weakened by habitat loss, poaching, and government actions like culling and relocating herds.
"As a result of such social upheaval, calves are now being born to and raised by ever younger and inexperienced mothers."
Explanation: Because of these disruptions, young elephants are being born to inexperienced mothers who are too young to provide proper care.
"Young orphaned elephants, meanwhile, that have witnessed the death of a parent at the hands of poachers are coming of age in the absence of the support system that defines traditional elephant life."
Explanation: Orphaned elephants, who have seen their parents killed by poachers, are growing up without the support of the traditional elephant family structure.
"The loss of elephant elders,” [says] Bradshaw, "and the traumatic experience of witnessing the massacres of their family, impairs normal brain and behavior development in young elephants.”
Explanation: Bradshaw claims that the loss of older elephants and the trauma of witnessing the death of their family members disrupts the normal brain and behavioral development of young elephants.
Paragraph 5
"What Bradshaw and her colleagues describe would seem to be an extreme form of anthropocentric conjecture if the evidence that they’ve compiled from various elephant researchers weren’t so compelling."
Explanation: Bradshaw and her colleagues' theory might seem overly human-centered, but their evidence from elephant studies is very convincing.
"The elephants of decimated herds, especially orphans who’ve watched the death of their parents and elders from poaching and culling, exhibit behaviour typically associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma-related disorders in humans: abnormal startle response, unpredictable asocial behavior, inattentive mothering and hyper aggression."
Explanation: Elephants from disrupted herds, especially those who have witnessed the deaths of their parents, show behaviors similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in humans, such as being easily startled, antisocial, neglectful as mothers, and overly aggressive.
Paragraph 6
"According to Bradshaw, 'Elephants are suffering and behaving in the same ways that we recognize in ourselves as a result of violence.'"
Explanation: Bradshaw explains that elephants are experiencing the same suffering and behaviors caused by violence that humans do.
"Except perhaps for a few specific features, brain organization and early development of elephants and humans are extremely similar."
Explanation: Bradshaw notes that, aside from a few differences, the brain development and early life stages of elephants and humans are very similar.
RC Paragraph Explanation
Paragraph 1 Summary
Bradshaw explains that the relationship between elephants and humans has shifted from peaceful coexistence to one marked by hostility and violence, both from humans and sometimes from elephants.
Paragraph 2 Summary
Bradshaw and colleagues argue that elephant aggression today is not just due to testosterone or competition for resources but is caused by chronic stress and trauma from poaching, culling, and habitat destruction, leading to a breakdown of traditional elephant society.
Paragraph 3 Summary
Elephants are highly social animals, and young elephants are raised in a tight-knit community of female caregivers, staying close to their mothers for many years, with males eventually joining all-male groups before returning to the herd.
Paragraph 4 Summary
Bradshaw and colleagues claim that the disruption of elephant society caused by poaching, culling, and habitat loss has resulted in younger, inexperienced mothers raising calves, and orphaned elephants growing up without a supportive social structure, affecting their development.
Paragraph 5 Summary
Bradshaw and her team’s theory about elephants suffering from trauma may seem anthropocentric, but the evidence is compelling, with elephants from decimated herds exhibiting behaviors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Paragraph 6 Summary
Bradshaw compares the suffering of elephants to that of humans, noting that their brain development and early life experiences are remarkably similar.
RC Quick Table Summary
| Paragraph Number | Main Idea |
|---|---|
| Paragraph 1 | The relationship between humans and elephants has shifted from peaceful coexistence to violence. |
| Paragraph 2 | Elephant aggression is caused by chronic stress and trauma, not just competition for resources. |
| Paragraph 3 | Elephants are deeply social animals, and young elephants are raised in close-knit family networks. |
| Paragraph 4 | Disruptions in elephant society have led to younger mothers and orphaned elephants growing up without proper support systems. |
| Paragraph 5 | Evidence supports the idea that elephants exhibit PTSD-like behaviors due to trauma from poaching and culling. |
| Paragraph 6 | Bradshaw highlights the similarity between elephant and human responses to violence, noting similar brain development. |
RC Questions
Ques 1. The passage makes all of the following claims EXCEPT:
Ques 2. Which of the following statements best expresses the overall argument of this passage?
Ques 3. Which of the following measures is Bradshaw most likely to support to address the problem of elephant aggression?
Ques 4. In paragraph 4, the phrase, “The fabric of elephant society . . . has effectively been frayed by . . .” is:
Ques 5. In the first paragraph, Bradshaw uses the term “violence” to describe the recent change in the human-elephant relationship because, according to him:
