Question: Do elephants reproduce with feelings or they just do it for there species?

Ellen Williams answered on 16 Mar 2017:

I would imagine they basically do it for survival of the species, males and females don’t mate for life so I think this sort of rules out the thought that they may be choosing their mates for a long term relationship. In the wild females do choose their mates though – but I think it is based more on biological fitness than how they feel about the male. Males have to compete with other males for access to females and it is usually the fittest males (biggest, strongest) that win this battle. When female elephants are in oestrus (and so able to become pregnant) they produce pheromones which attracts bulls. When bulls approach she leaves the group and essentially plays ‘kiss chase’with the males – running away from them while they follow her. It is thought that females only stop for the larger males and so this points to the suggestion that she is choosing the most biologically fit males!