African elephants live within matriarchal societies, where females live together for life and coming-of-age males leave their natal families to join all-male groups. In the scrub desert of Etosha National Park, Namibia, elephant social behavior and habitat use are influenced by social context, resource abundance, and environmental fluctuations. Data will be presented on factors influencing the fission-fusion nature of family group dynamics, character stability and social influence within the population, long distance communication and the roles and turn-taking that occur within vocal bouts. Ongoing studies on the elephant’s ability to detect low frequency vocalizations at a distance will also be discussed.