Elephantsare wonderful animals, and they keep proving it time and time again. If you’ve been on the internet long enough, chances are you’ve seen multiple videos of these magnificent creaturespainting, doing yoga, displaying tricks, and many other things that make us love them.
And yet, they just keep on surprising us. For example, not so long ago, researchers discovered that these animals actually have something akin tonamesfor each other, which they use to call or refer to other elephants, suggesting that there is a lot more to them than we know. Scroll down to read the full story!
It’s no secret that elephants are highly intelligent beings, but it turns out that they might be even more similar to humans than we thought
Image credits:Stephen Jandrell (not the actual photo)
Over the years, researchers noticed that elephants tend to have similar yet slightly different calls they make that would only attract a single individual instead of a whole group
We have long known that elephants are some of the mostintelligentbeings on our planet. While, as far as we’re aware, they’re not quite on par with humans, they have repeatedly impressed us with their memory, problem-solving, and communication skills, which few other animals can match.
This soon led to a new study, published last month in theNature Ecology & Evolutionjournal, which, using a machine-learning model, studied 100 African Savannah elephants and found that these majestic animals seem to have individually specific name-like calls for each other that they use for communication.
Image credits:Pixabay (not the actual photo)
Intrigued, they started a study, which showed that these animals sometimes use name-like components in their calls intended for specific elephants
“Certainly, in order to address one another in this way, elephants must learn to associate particular sounds with particular individuals and then use those sounds to get the attention of the individual in question, which requires [a] sophisticated learning ability and understanding of social relationships,” explained the lead author, adding that this behavior indicates just how importantsocial bondsare for these creatures.
Image credits:Dick Hoskins (not the actual photo)
Sean Michael ofSheldrick Wildlife Trust, whomBored Pandareached out to for an interview, further emphasized the importance of social bonds for elephants. “Family is everything to them, and the bonds they form last a lifetime,” said the expert, sharing how elephant orphans instantly recognize the keepers who raised them even after very many years of separation.
“The bonds they form are individual and intimate, much like the bonds we form with other humans,” said Sean, explaining how this study gives further insight into how complex and deeply personal elephant social structures are.
These findings further confirm that elephants, like humans, are deeply social beings
Image credits:Ray Rui (not the actual photo)
So, ultimately, despite our vastly different appearances, humans and elephants might be much more alike than we ever thought. If we continue down this path, perhaps we will eventually be able to get far enough that we’ll actually be able to talk to one another someday.
The commenters were very happy about this wholesome discovery, with some expressing their amazement and others making related jokes
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