Wild elephants may have names that other elephants use to call them(npr.org)
npr.org
Wild elephants may have names that other elephants use to call them
https://www.npr.org/2024/06/07/nx-s1-4994426/wild-elephants-individual-names
22 comments
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02420-w
I wonder if they have "two-word sentences", sequences of calls that mean something particular in context. Like "Bob, eat!" or "Mom, help!".
Elephants are one of the smartest animals, possessing self-awareness and metacognition, an extreme rarity in the animal kingdom. They are one of the few species to make art and mourn and bury their dead. That they have unique identifiers is not a surprise at all.
> one of the few species to make art
Source?
Source?
They're also one of the few species to build roads and bridges.
I suspect the quiet part of the three assertions is "under human supervision".
You can certainly visit various zoos and purchase art by elephants and watch them paint with brushes on large canvases.
Typically less dense than a Jackson Pollack and less use of spaghetti than a Pro Hart* carpet.
( * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qb4n8yc2so )
I suspect the quiet part of the three assertions is "under human supervision".
You can certainly visit various zoos and purchase art by elephants and watch them paint with brushes on large canvases.
Typically less dense than a Jackson Pollack and less use of spaghetti than a Pro Hart* carpet.
( * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qb4n8yc2so )
Fun fact: Bison created deep, wide grooves in the plains and prairies that were subsequently used by the settlers moving west in their wagons.
Assuming that the videos are real, elephants on zoos had being recorded painting scenes on canvasses that aren't completely abstract. They are trained to paint to please visitors, but curiously they seem to enjoy drawing trees.
Is not clear to me if they just parrot the training or really try to send a message or draw some scene that they find instinctively pleasant. (but wouldn't be strange having in mind their intelligence).
Is not clear to me if they just parrot the training or really try to send a message or draw some scene that they find instinctively pleasant. (but wouldn't be strange having in mind their intelligence).
It's said that they never forget, and they never forgive.
How do they react to complex reveals? Google earth + ZOOM on a tablet? A video of evolutionary development and history?
Why is that controversial, the ability to recognize a map and handle the revealed absteaction via a zoom slider is a great tool to observe cognitive flexibility..
Using google earth on a tablet along with a zoom slider as a way of measuring cognition is the most HN take I’ve seen in a while.
This is not surprising to me; dolphins and crows do as well. I've come to expect it from any creature at or near human-level intelligence.
What’s very remarkable is that elephants like human seem to invent abstract names; other animals like dolphins mimic the signature sound of another to attract their attention.
As a precursor to Animal Farm, Kipling's https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/tale/her-majestys-servants.... (1894) features a number of animals caught up in state bureaucracy.
The other animals have nicknamed the elephant "Two Tails", and it explains that it is afraid in battle because it can think about what happens when a shell bursts, and ruminates upon whether it might not be better off back at home in the forest rather than here in the army...
The other animals have nicknamed the elephant "Two Tails", and it explains that it is afraid in battle because it can think about what happens when a shell bursts, and ruminates upon whether it might not be better off back at home in the forest rather than here in the army...
darwin himself said the difference of mind between humans and higher animals is one of degree, not kind.
Somewhat OT but have you guys seen this video of a horse entertaining a baby - what an incredible display of intelligence.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3CP7IXOjIhw
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3CP7IXOjIhw
Not surprised. These animals are fascinating. We're not even sure we have caught everything from their language; maybe it's not just sound-based, and the way they shake their trump and ears or they dance counts a lot as well. I've long wondered if some of them developed some religions or even if they've overcome this need, reserving it to humans only.
Another study already showed that some monkeys have vocal words to designate a tiger and an eagle and use that to make all the group go up or down in the tree depending where the threat comes from. Elephants being more complex animals also living in groups are quite likely to have an even more elaborated language.
Another study already showed that some monkeys have vocal words to designate a tiger and an eagle and use that to make all the group go up or down in the tree depending where the threat comes from. Elephants being more complex animals also living in groups are quite likely to have an even more elaborated language.
How many animals have human-level language? The only I’m aware are these monkeys that were taught how to sign
If you're taking about Koko the gorilla, that one is controversial. Look up Alex the parrot (Irene Pepperberg), which has a decent evidence base
The true answer is "we don't know".